Fire for Ice
by Count Morningstar
Summary: An AU to the anime set ten years after the end of the Johto League. This is the story of two young lovers separated by geography and the machinations of Team Rocket. As they push through the obstacles before them to get back together, they soon find that two very powerful Legendary Pokemon will play a major role in their destiny.
1. Into the Cold

**Introduction:** It seems like I'm stretching myself a little starting a new story while I have two other stories going right now. But one is almost done, and I've been wanting to get the ball rolling on this story for a few weeks now. I've been reading about the new Pokemon Black 2 and White 2 games that have recently come out in Japan, and those games are what inspired the idea for this story. The truth is I'm not as into Pokemon as I used to be. The anime has pretty much gone down hill after the Johto saga. And I stopped playing the games not long after Ruby and Sapphire came out (though that was mostly due to the fact that I couldn't afford a DS). But I still keep an eye on the franchise from time to time, and it still produces some pretty interesting stuff.

**Setting:** So as I said in the summery, this is basically an AU to the anime. Events in this universe match up to the anime right up until the end of the Johto League. After that, things start to get really different. You'll see that as a couple of characters from the anime show up later in the story.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

Chapter 1: Into the Cold

Nora Winters sat on the bed in her room at her family's vacation home in Unova. Lying next to her at the foot of the bed was a small four-legged mammalian creature with long ears, brown fur, a long bushy tail, and a bushy collar of cream colored fur. This was Nora's Pokemon, Eevee. Nora glanced out the window and saw that night had already come; the full moon lit the snow-covered ground as the cold wind blew against the house. She then glanced at her reflection in the mirror for what was probably the tenth time that night. She looked the same as she did five minutes ago. She still had long curly brown hair that went just past her shoulders, her eyes were still dark-blue, and she was still wearing a white dress.

Nora then looked away and sighed to herself. She was twenty-one years old and her father had essentially grounded her, and all because he didn't like Nora's boyfriend. Of course Nora's father, Calvin Winters, always was a very controlling individual. And he had the means to control people since he ran a multinational company. And only three weeks ago Nora's father used that power to tear her away from her boyfriend, Alex Blaze.

It had started out as a wonderful night. Nora had snuck out of her family condo in Goldenrod City in Johto to go out on a date with Alex. She had to sneak out, as her father never approved of her seeing Alex. The biggest reason was because Alex was an orphan with little to his name. Though that didn't stop Nora and Alex from seeing each other. That night though, things went terribly wrong. As Nora and Alex were walking, four men in black suits showed up. Two of the knocked Alex out cold, while the other two dragged her into a black van and drove off.

Later Nora was brought to her father, who told her that he was putting an end to her relationship with Alex once and for all. After that, he shipped her off to the vacation home in the Unova Region with her Eevee and that seemed to be the end of it. Of course Nora wasn't exactly a prisoner, the only person at the place keeping an eye on her was the groundskeeper, and he was gone half the time. But there was one thing keeping her caged though, and that was the harsh cold weather outside. Nora had always had an extreme aversion to the cold, and she would avoid going out into winter weather whenever possible. Nora sighed again and walked to the window, which caused Eevee to wake up from its nap and look at Nora.

"I don't think I can stand it here anymore Eevee." Nora said to the little Pokemon. "I can't stop thinking about Alex. And I'm very worried about what my father has done to him…. I want to go out and find him."

At that point Eevee sat up and looked at Nora with an expression that seemed to ask her if she was planning to do something.

"I hate the idea of going out into that cold wilderness." Nora continued. "But I want to see Alex again…. I'm thinking of going out there to find him."

Eevee's big dark-brown eyes widened a bit when it heard what Nora was thinking of doing. The little Pokemon gave a short surprised noise that sounded like the first syllable of its name. It was as if Eeeve was asking Nora if she was serious about leaving.

"I know it seems crazy." Nora said as she turned from the window to face Eevee. "This place is miles away from any town in this region, and I have no idea where Alex even is. But I have to go out and find him."

Eevee then got up on all fours and gave Nora a very determined look that seemed to tell her that she should go for it.

"Oh, I knew you'd understand my little friend." Nora said as she picked up Eevee and gave it a hug. She then glanced over at the clock. It read 9:00 PM, which meant that the groundskeeper was out and wouldn't return for two more hours. "I suppose if we're going to leave, it's now or never."

Nora then put Eevee back down on the bed and then grabbed the Pokeball she kept Eevee in some of the time. She then went over to the closet and quickly changed out of her dress and into a white sweater, dark-blue pants, and black socks. Nora then went out the door and headed down stairs. Eevee hopped off the bed and followed close behind. Downstairs, Nora began gathering things she thought she would need to traverse the icy wilderness outside, food water, and other necessities. Nora was not one who went out into the great outdoors often. Being born into a rich family and growing up in Goldenrod City did not prepare one for the great outdoors, but Nora didn't really have any choice if she wanted to find Alex.

With her previsions gathered, Nora put on a light-blue coat, white fur-lined boots, a matching pair of gloves, a white snowcap, and a long white scarf. She then gathered up her bags and headed out the door with Eevee as quickly as she could. The snow outside was ankle-deep. Eevee seemed to have no problem getting around in it however. Though it was like a fish jumping in and out of the water. The cold wind cut through Nora like a knife, but she was determined to endure it. She focused on her plan, which was to get over the wilderness to any town she could find, and then take any transportation to Johto she could find and search for Alex.

After getting several feet away from the house, Nora glanced back over her shoulder. The house had grown small in the distance, though she could still see its lights in the distance. The wind had already erased Nora and Eevee's track in the snow, which Nora quickly realized was a good thing. Nora and Eevee pressed on into the wilderness. The full moon lit the snow on the ground and in the trees, giving the land a sort of luminescence that Nora surprisingly found beautiful. It was as if the land itself had become a star.

At least half an hour since leaving the house, Nora and Eevee entered the forest. Only two steps in they encountered another Pokemon. It was a small black Pokemon with a round body. It had no head but it did have a face, which consisted of small round icy-blue eye and a wide inverted grin that gave one the impression that the creature was shivering. The creature had short stubby arms and legs without fingers or toes, and around its body it wore a yellow cloak with an orange rim that was wrapped in the shape of a cone. Nora was somewhat familiar with the Pokemon of the world and recognized the creature as a Snorunt.

Right away Snorunt attacked Nora and Eevee by spraying a stream of powder-blue snow at the two. Nora knew that she and Eevee had to battle the little Snorunt. She didn't participate in many Pokemon battles, but she had taught Eevee a few moves in case she needed the little Pokemon to defend her if attacked out on the street.

"Eevee, hit Snorunt with Tackle!" Nora commanded.

Eevee charged at the little Ice Pokemon and rammed it into a nearby tree with incredible force. Snorunt soon got back to its feet though. And fired off another spray of snow powder from its mouth. The attack hit Eevee dead on, but the furry little mammal quickly recovered.

"Use Shadow Ball!" Nora commanded.

Eevee opened its mouth, and from it formed a ball of black and purple energy. It then fired the ball at Snorunt. The attack hit and knocked Snorunt against the tree. Suddenly an item fell out of one of the bags that Nora was carrying. It was a ball that was red on top and white on the bottom. Nora recognized the item as a Pokeball, but not the one she kept Eevee in. She picked it up and decided to use it. Nora through the ball at Snorunt, it hit Snorunt in the face and opened up, changing the Pokemon into red energy and sucking it in. The ball then fell to the ground, a red light on the button on the front of the device started flashing red. The Pokeball jiggled a few times as if Snorunt was trying to burst out. But soon the ball stopped moving. The red light on the front turned off and the ball made a noise that signaled that the capture was complete.

Nora picked up the ball containing what had become her new Pokemon. She was still trying to figure out where this spare Pokeball had come from. She put down one of the bags she was carrying and found that it was filled to the brim with Pokeballs. Many of them were black with a thick yellow stripe on the top half. Nora realized that in her haste to leave the house, she had accidentally grabbed the bag of Pokeballs that the groundskeeper kept around for some reason.

"Well, it looks like we might end up making a few new friends out here Eevee." Nora said to her companion. "Let's go set up camp."

A few minutes later Nora found a small clearing in the forest to camp out in for the night. After she managed to start a fire, she unrolled her sleeping bag and took out a few provisions from her pack, some food for herself, and some for Eevee and her newest Pokemon.

"Time to say hello to our new friend." Nora said to Eevee as she took out Snorunt's Pokeball. "Go Snorunt!"

Nora threw the Pokeball, which opened up and let out a blast of white energy that materialized into Snorunt. The little Pokemon was still injured from its fight with Eevee, so Nora got out a bottle of Super Potion she brought with in case Eevee got hurt and sprayed some on Snorunt. Snorunt experienced a little discomfort from the spray, but quickly found that its injuries had healed.

"Sorry for being so rough on you back there, but you did start that fight." Nora said to Snorunt as she prepared a bowl of food for it. "Here, you're probably hungry."

Snorunt gladly began eating the food that Nora had given it. Nora then prepared a bowl for Eevee and then prepared a small meal for herself. Within a few minutes the three had finished eating.

"I wonder what Alex is doing now?" Nora said to herself as she looked up at the star-filled night sky.

"Sno?" the little Snorunt said with a confused expression, getting Nora's attention.

"Oh that's right, you don't know why I'm out here." Nora said as she turned her attention to Snorunt. "I'm trying to get to my boyfriend Alex, we got separated by my father…. I hope he's okay."

Eevee gave Nora a smile and an encouraging noise, which cheered Nora up a little bit.

"You're right Eevee, I'm sure Alex is doing just fine." Nora said to her little friend. "Well, we should get some sleep so we can get back onto the road tomorrow."

With that, Nora called back Eevee and Snorunt to their Pokeballs and lied down in her sleeping back. She looked up at the sky one last time before closing her eyes to try and get to sleep. The cold continued to cut into her, but she tried to put it out of her mind, and eventually sleep finally claimed her.

* * *

**Author's Note:** This story is going to take one more chapter to set up. It's basically switching between two main characters. The second main character will be introduced in the next chapter, and I think the next chapter will be a little more interesting. So stay tuned.

In the meantime, please review and let me know what you think.


	2. Recruit 17

**Author's Note:** In this chapter we introduce our male lead and see Team Rocket sink to whole new depths of evil. A big-time supporting character is also introduced towards the end of this chapter. I think you'll know who he is right away.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

Chapter 2: Recruit 17

A young man woke up in a small room with only a single door, a bed, and a mirror. He tried to remember where he was and how he got there, but quickly found that he couldn't. In fact the young man couldn't remember anything, not even his own name. He got up from the bed and walked to the mirror. He could see from his reflection that he was in his early twenties. He had spiked red hair and brown eyes. The cloths he was wearing were of course very strange to him. His outfit was all black, and included black army boots and leather gloves. There was one part of the outfit that wasn't black though, and that was the large red letter R on the front of his shirt.

The door to the room suddenly opened, and in walked another man wearing the same outfit as he was; only it included a black cap.

"Good to see you're on your feet Recruit 17." The stranger said to the young man. "It's time to fall in. Let's go."

Recruit 17 followed the stranger out of the room. As he did he tried to remember his name but couldn't. And he felt certain that the stranger leading him down the hallway wasn't going to tell him his real name. Moments later Recruit 17 and his escort arrived in a large room with several other people wearing the type of uniform. All of them were beginning to line up in rows.

"Okay, now get into rank." The escort commanded.

Recruit 17 decided he had no other choice but to get in line with the others. He looked around the room again at his fellow recruits. They all looked to be around his age. Many of them were men but a few were woman. All of them were standing at attention. Recruit 17 wondered if any of them remembered who they were. His thoughts were interrupted though when another man entered the room. This man looked to be in his mid-thirties and was very muscular. Like everyone else he was wearing a black uniform with a large red R on the shirt, only his outfit included a dark-grey vest.

"Okay you maggots, listen up!" the large man bellowed. "As of today you are all a part of Team Rocket! You can all forget about the lives you lived before, because they meant nothing. Your new lives start now! And it all starts with your training, which I'll be handling. You may address me as Sergeant Carson. Call me anything else and I'll bash you into the ground. Now before we can begin your training each of you will be issued three Pokemon. After receiving these Pokemon you will be given a few minutes to familiarize yourselves with them."

At this point the man who escorted Recruit 17 into the room began calling the other recruits by their assigned numbers one by one. And one by one each recruit stepped up and received three Pokemon. Very soon Recruit 17 was called up and received three Pokemon of his own. Those who had already gotten their Pokemon had called them out to find out what they had gotten. Recruit 17 decided that he should do the same.

Recruit 17 threw out the first ball. The Pokemon that came out was a small rodent-like creature with a long snout, a dark-blue back, and a cream-colored underside. It stood on its hind legs and had four red spots on its back. Recruit 17 recognized the Pokemon as a Cyndaquil, though how he didn't know. He couldn't even remember his own name, yet he knew what species of Pokemon he had gotten.

Recruit 17 shrugged it off and called out the second Pokemon. This one was a small four-legged creature with stubby legs and large blue eyes. Much of the little Pokemon's body was covered in armor. The one large plate on its back had a spike in the middle and two holes in the sides. Recruit 17 recognized this Pokemon as an Aron.

He then called out the third Pokemon. This one was mostly red and had a fairly humanoid shape to it. The top of its head was lumpy, and it had a yellow snout. Its belly was also yellow and it had a lizard-like tale. Around its neck was a collar that looked like a black shackle. Recruit 17 recognized the Pokemon as a Magby.

"Okay, so you guys are the three Pokemon I get, huh?" Recruit 17 said to the three, getting their attention. "I guess you don't know why you guys are here either."

The three Pokemon all gave Recruit 17 a confused look.

"Well, I guess we should all just play along for now. Hey, why I don't I give you guy's names?" Recruit 17 suggested to the three. He then turned to the Cyndaquil. "Let's see… why don't I just call you Quill?"

The Cyndaquil squeaked happily and shot quick bursts of flames from the spots on its back a few times. It seemed clear that it liked the name Recruit 17 had given it. Recruit 17 then turned to the Aron.

"I think I'll call you… Ironhide." Recruit 17 told it. "How's that sound?"

The little Aron growled and ran around in a circle three times. It seemed to approve of the name. Recruit 17 at last turned to the Magby.

"I'll call you… Cinder." Recruit 17 said to the little Fire Pokemon. "That seems to fit, don't you think?"

Magby raised its head and breathed out a short blast of flames. Like its two comrades it seemed to approve of its nickname.

"Alright maggots, meet and greet time is over!" Carson called to the recruits. "Time to start your training! Each of you will pair off and start battling. Now get to it!"

"Well guys, I guess we're on." Recruit 17 said to his three Pokemon.

* * *

A few hours later Carson headed down a hallway to a large office with the facility. The electric door to the office opened to allow Carson entrance. Sitting at the deck was a man with slicked-back brown hair who was wearing an orange suit, yellow shirt, green vest, and red tie. This was none other than the leader of Team Rocket, Giovanni. Also in the room was another man who looked to be in his mid-fifties. This man had a shaved head and grey beard, and wore a lab coat.

"Ah Carson, Dr. Trask here and I were just talking about the little project you've been assigned to." Giovanni said after noticing Carson's arrival. "How's it going?"

"The first day of training has gone quite well sir." Carson replied. "But if I may speak freely sir, I'm still pretty skeptical about this whole thing. It seems like too many things can go wrong with these brainwashed recruits."

"Nothing can go wrong with this Mr. Carson, I assure you." Dr. Trask cut in. "The conditioning of these young people is perfect. Using a combination of Pokemon Hypnosis and a few techniques of my own invention, I have completely blocked out their memories. As a result they are the perfect clay to be molded into the newest generation of Team Rocket soldiers."

"That's all good in theory doc, but what if these punks regain their memories?" Carson pointed out.

"That is totally impossible." Dr. Trask assured him. "There is absolutely no chance of our new recruits regaining their memories. Your only concern Mr. Carson is to train them."

"I believe Carson understand his responsibilities Dr." Giovanni interrupted. "Don't you Carson?"

"Yes Boss." Carson replied. "If that will be all I'd prefer to return to our duties."

"Of course, but first I would like to ask you about one of the Dr.'s recruits, Recruit 17." Giovanni asked. "How has he progressed so far?"

"Recruit 17? He actually shows some promise." Carson answered. "But if I may ask sir, what's so special about that recruit?"

"He's been brought into Dr. Trask's program at the request of a friend." Giovanni replied. "This friend of mine wanted Recruit 17 out of the way, and this seemed the best use of him. Be sure to give him special attention."

"With pleasure sir." Carson said with a sinister grin, and with that he turned and left the room.

* * *

Days passed and Carson had put the recruits through grueling training. When they weren't going up against each other in Pokemon battles, they were being put through rigorous calisthenics and trained to infiltrate buildings. All the while though, Recruit 17 kept trying to remember who he was and why he was working for Team Rocket. One day after about four weeks of training, Recruit 17 was about to be pitted against a young man with plum colored hair, which he knew only as Recruit 30. Giovanni and Dr. Trask had come personally to see the battle.

Recruit 17 had already sent out Quill, Ironhide, and Ciner for triple battle. Recruit 30's Pokemon had already been sent out as well. The first was a floating purple ball with eyes and a mouth, and a white skull and crossbones type symbol beneath its face. This was the Poison-type Pokmon known as Koffing. The second member of Recruit 30's Pokemon team was a small purple blob with eyes and a mouth known as a Grimer. The third Pokemon was a large purple fur ball with large red insect eyes, a pair of pincers for a mouth, two antennas on what could be considered a forehead, two large peach colored feet and two small hands. This was the Insect Pokemon known as Venonat. The battle was about to begin.

"Koffing, hit that little Aron with Sludge Bomb!" Recruit 30 commanded.

From its mouth Koffing hurled a large ball of dark-brown sludge Ironhide. The projectile hit dead on, but Ironhide was completely unfazed.

"Ironhide, hit that Koffing with Iron Head!" Recruit 17 commanded.

The armor plating covering Ironhide's head began glowing with a white light. The little armored Pokemon then charged forward at top speed and with an incredible leap rammed the Koffing into the high ceiling. Koffing dropped back down to the ground, and it was clear that it was no longer able to do battle.

"Damn it!" Recruit 30 exclaimed in a frustrated tone. "Grimer, hit that Magby with Poison Gas!"

The Grimer released a small cloud of purple gas that was sent towards Cinder. But Cinder easily got out of the way of it.

"Cinder, fight back with Fire Punch!" Recruit 17 commanded.

Cinder charged forward and hit Grimer with a flame-covered fist. Grimer was thrown back a few feet by the impact.

"Finish it with Ember!" Recruit 17 commanded.

Cinder fired a barrage of bullet-like flames from its mouth. The attack hit Grimer dead on, and it moments the purple blob was knocked out.

"Venonat, hit the Cyndaquil with Psybeam!" Recruit 30 commanded.

Venonat began firing a multicolored beam of light from its antenna. The beam hit Quill, and the little Fire Pokemon was having trouble enduring the continuous blast.

"Don't give up Quill! Fight back with Ember!" Recruit 17 commanded.

Quill managed to lift its head and fire a barrage of fiery bullets at Venonat. The Bug Pokemon's attack ended, and it became very clear that it could no longer continue fighting. With the battle over, Quill, Ironhide, and Cinder all began glowing with a white light. The shape of their bodies began to grow and change. When the light faded, Quill had taken on a larger more weasel-like appearance, gaining pointed ears and dropping down on all fours. The red spots that were flame vents had changed position on Quill's body. Two had moved to its forehead in a vertical alignment, while three had moved to its rear. Quill had evolved into a Quilava.

Ironhide's transformation was a little more drastic. It had grown much larger than before, and developed a tail. A row of segmented metal plates with spikes covered its back, and the plate on its face had gained a more skull-like appearance. Its mouth was also far more visible. Ironhide had evolved into a Lairon.

As for Cinder, it had grown taller and the two lumps that remained on its forehead had gained flames. The lower half of Cinder's body had become yellow and gained a flame-like pattern. Its shoulders had also turned yellow, while its red arms had gained scales. In addition to the black shackle still around its neck, Cinder had gained two more around its ankles. A row on long spikes went down Cinder's back, and its yellow tail ended in a flame. Cinder had evolved into a Magmar.

"Impressive." Giovanni commented to Carson. "All three of his Pokemon evolved at once. And they won that battle very quickly."

"Yeah, Recruit 17 trained those Pokemon pretty well, unlike that wimp Recruit 30." Carson agreed. "I'm gonna have to be way harder on him. Anyway, the one weird thing about 17 is that he's nicknamed all his Pokemon. I've had a few of the other recruits doing that too."

"I don't think that's anything to worry about." Dr. Trask commented. "As long as they remain loyal a little individuality is tolerable."

"You don't think it's a sign they might be regaining their memories?" Giovanni asked.

"Not at all." Dr. Trask replied. "People with amnesia have been known to retain elements of their personality."

"Well in that case I think it's time we test out a few of our new soldiers in the field." Giovanni suggested. "Are there any other Recruits at Number 17's level?"

"Just one." Carson answered. "What kind of mission do you have in mind Boss?"

"Something small, but worth the effort." Giovanni replied.

* * *

The next night, Recruit 17 was out with Carson and one of his fellow recruits, a girl shoulder-length white hair he knew only as Recruit 53. The three had arrived at the outskirts of Saffron City.

"Okay, we'll infiltrate from here." Carson told the two. "Remember the mission, we're to break into the Sliph Company warehouse and try and retrieve a Master Ball that's reported to be in there. Now let's move! Go Steelix!"

With that, Carson threw a Pokeball that sent out a large serpent made out of metal boulders. Two of the boulders in its midsection had long spikes on the sides.

"Dig us a tunnel Steelix!" Carson commanded the serpent. Steelix began burrowing into the ground, creating a huge tunnel in its wake. "Okay you maggots, let's go!"

Recruits 17 and 53 followed Carson into the tunnel. During the long walk through the underground path that was being dug, Recruit 17 tried a few times to talk to Recruit 53, but the female recruit seemed rather unapproachable. In the darkness he could see that she had a stern expression on her face. Recruit 17 wondered if 53 had given up on trying to figure out who she once was. Soon the tunnel ended and the three emerged from the ground into a warehouse filled with wooden crates.

"Okay you two, send out your Pokemon and start looking for that Master Ball!" Carson commanded.

Recruit 17 sent out Quill, Ironhide, and Cinder. Meanwhile Recruit 53 sent out her three Pokemon. The first was a blue robotic-looking creature with red eyes, and had a saucer-like body with two long arms with three grey claws on each one. This Pokemon was known as Metang. The second of Recruit 53's Pokemon was humanoid in shape and had a white torso with flaps on its waist that resembled a tutu. Its legs were green and thin like those of a dancer. It had a head of green hair that covered most of its face. On top of its head were two red horns that looked like hairpins that held its two long pigtails in place. This was the Psychic Pokemon Kirlia.

The third Pokemon that Recruit 53 sent out looked similar to an origami crane that was made from various geometric shapes. Recruit 17 knew this Pokemon as a Porygon, though this particular Porygon was a little different from most. Most Porygon were usually pink with blue beaks, tails, wings, and bellies. But Recruit 53's Porygon was electric-blue with a light-blue beak, tail, belly, and wings. Like Metang, Recruit 53's Porygon hovered in the air.

"Fan out!" Carson commanded, and immediately the group split up to look for the item they came for.

As they began their search, Cinder spotted an item on the ground that looked like a small red cube with a black top. The object intrigued Cinder so much that it picked it up. The mission meanwhile was bothering Recruit 17. After all, they were essentially going to steal something. But it seemed to him that there wasn't much he could do about it. Suddenly, Steelix began glowing with a blue aura and was thrown against the wall with a loud crash. The giant metal serpent was out cold.

"What the hell?" Carson exclaimed.

Before Carson could do anything, he too suddenly began glowing with a blue aura and was suddenly hurled against Steelix by the same force. He too had been knocked out as a result. The two recruits looked around and quickly saw two glowing blue eyes in the darkness.

"Tron, attack whatever that is with Psybeam!" Recruit 53 commanded her Porygon.

The Porygon known as Tron fired beams on multicolored light from its eyes, but the beams hit what looked like an invisible wall. Suddenly Recruit 53, Metang, Kirlia, and Tron began glowing with a blue aura and were hurled into Carson and Steelix.

"Who are you?" Recruit 17 demanded to know. "Show yourself!"

The eyes of the thing had stopped glowing and it soon stepped out of the shadows. It was humanoid and stood about six feet tall. Its head was off-white and like that of a cat. A tattered brown cloak shrouded the rest of its body. Cinder panicked at the appearance to the creature and fired off an Ember attack. But like Tron's Psybeam, the attack hit an invisible wall that suddenly appeared. The creature responded by raising it arm, which ended in a hand with three ball-tipped fingers, and threw a ball of black and purple energy. The ball hit cinder hard, so much so that the impact hurled him into a crate.

"What are you?" Recruit 17 asked in a slightly terrified tone. "Are you… a Pokemon?"

"I am… Mewtwo." A voice suddenly spoke in Recruit 17's head. Right away Recruit 17 knew that it was the Pokemon that was speaking to him. "Tell me, why do you serve Team Rocket?"

"I… don't know." Recruit 17 answered.

"What do you mean you don't know?" Mewtwo asked.

"I just don't, okay?" Recruit 17 replied. "I've been trying to figure that out but I can't!"

"This is getting tiresome." Mewtwo said in a slightly annoyed tone. "It seems that I'm going to have to be a little more direct in finding the answers I seek."

Suddenly Mewtwo's eyes began glowing blue again, and Recruit 17 felt something burrowing into his mind. It felt like his head was going to explode. Soon Recruit 17's mind was flooded with names and faces that he felt he knew, but it was all coming so hard and so fast. He couldn't take it anymore and screamed in pain. After that he fell to the ground, blood trickling down his nose. Quill and Ironhide began growling at Mewtwo.

"Do not worry, he should live." Mewtwo said somewhat indifferently. "Though I suppose he'll need help to recover…. How interesting, it seems that some humans will not only enslave Pokemon, but other humans as well. I wonder what sort of person this human truly is?"

* * *

Recruit 17 woke up to find a woman with long dark-green hair staring down at him. A very serious expression was on her face. He tried to sit up, but the splitting headache that came over him prevented him from doing so.

"Try not to move." The woman told him. "You experienced a great trauma and require rest. Do not worry about your Pokemon. They are fine. Though your Magmar had to be taken to the Pokemon Center."

"Who… are you?" Recruit 17 asked weakly.

"I am Sabrina, leader of the Saffron City Gym." The woman replied. "Do you remember your name?"

"My name?" Recruit 17 asked back. He was about to tell Sabrina that he couldn't remember what his name was, but it suddenly came to him as clear as day. "I'm… Alex Blaze."

* * *

**Author's Note:** I suppose I could've dragged Alex's amnesia on for another chapter or two, but I really don't like amnesia stories. And even though having Mewtwo suddenly show up and restore Alex's memories is a bit of a deaus ex machina, I just couldn't resist. By the way, the character of Recruit 53 might be used in another story of mine in the future.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	3. Last Train to Goldenrod

**Author's Note:** This is the chapter where things start to get moving. I also introduce another supporting character in this story. He's an OC, but he plays a big role later on. He also serves to help set up another story. But I'm getting a little ahead of myself.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

Chapter 3: Last Train to Goldenrod

It had been a few hours since Alex Blaze woke up in the room at the Saffron City Gym to find that his memories had returned. Since that time he felt as if he had gotten some of his strength back, though his head still felt like it had just been in a vice. Still, Alex's recovery seemed to be proceeding swiftly, which was good because Alex wanted to get on the road as soon as possible. One of the first things Alex remembered aside from his name was his girlfriend Nora, and he wanted to get back to her quickly. Since waking up in the gym, Sabrina had been telling Alex just what had happened to him.

"When Mewtwo probed your mind back at the warehouse he inadvertently undid whatever brainwashing Team Rocket used on you." Sabrina explained. "The process unfortunately almost caused brain damage. If Mewtwo hadn't gotten you to me when he did, you probably would've died or ended up in a coma."

"You're saying he almost killed me?" Alex asked.

"He didn't mean any harm. Mewtwo was simply curious." Sabrina told him. "Lately he's been interested in learning more about the human race. Mewtwo saw the brake in at the warehouse and decided it was a good opportunity to find out why some humans would work for organizations like Team Rocket. He never imagined running into someone like you, and I suppose we're all lucky he did."

"How is it that you know Mewtwo?" Alex asked.

"He and I crossed paths once a few years ago." Sabrina explained. "It fascinated Mewtwo to meet a human with psychic powers almost on par with his own. Since that time he visits me every now and then. Now if you'll excuse me I have some business to attend to."

Just as Sabrina was about to leave the room, a dark-purple Pokemon with a round body, red eyes, pointed ear, short arms and legs a tail, and a back of spiked fur floated into the room. Its mouth was curved into a sinister grin.

"What is it Gengar?" Sabrina asked the Ghost Pokemon.

From behind its back, Gengar suddenly produced a large cake with green and white frosting. A single candle was lit on top.

"I'm not in the mood for sweets right now." Sabrina told Gengar.

Suddenly the flame of the candle went out and a second later the cake exploded. Sabrina was covered in frosting while Gengar on the other hand was clean, as the frosting only passed through his body as if it was air. Alex was sure that Sabrina was about to murder Gengar, if murdering a ghost was possible that is. But instead Sabrina burst into laughter.

"Oh my god! Where do you come up with this stuff?" Sabrina asked as she slowly started to regain her composure. "This is almost as funny as the time we put my dad's car on the roof of the gym. Oh boy, that made my day. Well, I guess I'll need to clean up before doing anything else."

Sabrina left the room with Gengar following close behind. Alex sighed and leaned back onto the bed. He never imagined that a serious looking woman like Sabrina would have such an odd sense of humor.

"I've never understood her sense of humor either." A voice suddenly spoke into Alex's head.

Alex shot up and saw that Mewtwo had suddenly entered the room. Though how exactly Mewtwo got in, Alex could not figure out. Mewtwo was no longer wearing the tattered brown cloak that Alex had first seen him in.

"What're you doing here?" Alex asked in a tone that indicated he was not happy to see the psychic feline.

"I came to see how you are doing." Mewtwo asked.

"Fine considering you almost killed me." Alex replied rather ungratefully.

"I meant you no harm." Mewtwo pointed out. "And you should keep in mind that if I had not probed your mind and undid the brainwashing you would still be a slave to Team Rocket."

"I guess you're right." Alex grudgingly admitted. "Plus it doesn't matter either way. Right now the only thing I'm worried about is finding Nora."

"Nora?" Mewtwo asked.

"My girlfriend." Alex explained. "We met when I was about thirteen. At first we were just friends, but after awhile we became crazy about each other. Of course we had to go out in secret because Nora's father doesn't like me."

"Why does her father dislike you?" Mewtwo asked.

"Because I'm just an orphan with little to his name as he put it." Alex answered. "As far as he was concerned I had no business going out with his precious daughter. I guess he finally decided to do something about it when he had me kidnapped and turned into a Team Rocket puppet…. I just hope that Nora's okay."

* * *

Meanwhile in the Unova Region, Nora continued to wander the icy wasteland. It had been a few weeks since she had escaped from her family's vacation home, and it was not long after that she had realized she was lost. Nora had no idea which way the nearest town was or how close she was to it. But it was far too late to turn back; especially since she couldn't remember which way she had come. And the icy winds of the land did a good job of wiping away tracks.

But even if she could turn back, Nora still refused to. Despite the unbearable cold, she still wanted to find Alex more than anything. Nora soon came to a large boulder covered in ice. It was a rather unusual boulder that looked to be made out of some sort of blue crystal. Suddenly a Pokemon emerged from around the boulder, this one a large rock-like creature that hovered in the air. Much of the creature's body was covered in ice that had made it seem like it was wearing a hockey mask. A pair of black horns adorned the top of this giant floating head, and its large eyes were icy-blue. Nora recognized the Pokemon as a Glalie.

It seemed clear that the Glalie did not want Nora to pass through. So Nora decided to fight back.

"Go Eevee!" Nora called out as she threw a Pokeball. Eevee emerged from the thrown ball. "Eevee, attack with Shadow Ball!"

Eevee opened its mouth and fired off a ball of black and purple energy. The ball hit Glalie in the face. But the floating head quickly recovered and fired a beam of white energy from its mouth. Eevee jumped out of the way of the attack at the last second. A patch of ice formed on the ground where the beam hit.

"Don't give up Eevee!" Nora called. "Use Iron Tail!"

Eevee charged at Glalie and jumped up into the air. As it did so its tail began glowing with a brilliant white light. Eevee flipped in the air and its tail hit Glalie right on the top of its head. Glalie fell to the ground unconscious. Suddenly the large crystal boulder flashed and then Eevee's whole body lit up in a flash of white light.

When the light cleared, Eevee had completely transformed. Its once brown fur had turned light blue and had become much shorter. Though the fur on its feet and on the end of its tail were a darker blue. The inside of its ears had also changed to that dark-blue color, and there were two dark-blue diamond-shaped spots on its back. On the front of its head looked like what could be considered a snowcap. Eevee had evolved into a Glaceon.

"Well I guess that's one way to adapt to the cold." Nora said to Glaceon. "C'mon, let's keep going for awhile longer."

With that, Nora continued to press on with Glaceon trotting close behind her. It seemed that the ice fox had suddenly grown quite fond of the cold weather.

* * *

Back at the Saffron City Gym in Kanto, Ale was sitting in his room. He had since discarded the Team Rocket uniform he was wearing and had changed into a white shirt and black pants that Sabrina had brought him. Quill and Ironhide were out and eating from bowls of food that had been brought for them. Suddenly gliding in from the open door was a small flying squirrel-like creature with a white face and underside and black back and tail. The undersides of its wing flaps were yellow, and it had large yellow cheeks. Alex recognized the creature as an Emolga.

"Funny, I thought the Pokemon at this gym were all Psychic and Ghost Pokemon." Alex said as Emolga flew down to visit with Quill and Ironhide.

"Hey where'd you go little guy?" a male voice called from the hallway.

The person who stepped into the room was a man who looked to be in his early twenties. He had spiky blond hair and wore faded jeans, a black t-shirt, a yellow vest, and sunglasses. A red electric guitar was strung behind his back.

"There you are Emolga." The stranger said to the small electric rodent. Emolga flew back up onto the stranger's shoulder. "Hey, sorry to barge in on you like this. The little guy likes to explore."

"No big deal." Alex said to the stranger.

"So, you the guy who almost got his brain fried by Mewtwo?" the stranger asked.

"Yeah, my name's Alex Blaze." Alex replied. "And you are?"

"Oh, forgive my manners. The name's Bolt Hanson." The stranger introduced. "I'm the bad-ass rocker of the Sinnoh Region. And as for why I'm here, Sabrina's an old friend of mine. She called me and told me a little about your situation. I guess she thought I could help."

"Thanks." Alex told him.

"No problem man." Bolt replied. "Boy, I never thought Team Rocket would resort to brainwashing people. I've seen them do some pretty bad things, but this is the lowest they've sunk."

"It sounds like you've dealt with Team Rocket before." Alex observed.

"I fought 'em about ten years ago in Ecruteak City with some other guys." Bolt explained. "So you know why those grabbed you and messed with your head?"

"I'm pretty sure they were asked to do it by my girlfriend's dad." Alex explained. "Basically he hates my guts."

"Oh… been there dude." Bolt said supportively. "So what's your next move?"

"I'm going to find my girlfriend." Alex answered with a determined expression. "I'm not sure where she is, but I can start by looking in Goldenrod City."

"Well lucky for you there's a train that goes from here to Goldenrod." Bolt told him optimistically. "There's actually one leaving today."

"It might be wise to take that train." Sabrina interrupted as she suddenly entered the room. "I have a feeling that Team Rocket will be coming for you soon Alex."

* * *

Back at the secret headquarters of Team Rocket, Carson was briefing Giovanni on what happened at the warehouse. Needless to say, Giovanni was not at all pleased.

"What do you mean you don't know what threw you against the wall?" Giovanni asked angrily. "Surly you saw something!"

"I saw nothing sir." Carson maintained. "Recruit 53 reported seeing a pair of eyes, but she didn't know what they were of. It could've been some kind of rouge Psychic Pokemon."

"Well whatever took you down in that warehouse, I'm far more concerned about what has happened to Recruit 17." Giovanni told him. "I want him brought back here immediately."

"I'll get right on it sir." Carson replied.

* * *

About an hour later, Alex and Bolt were walking down the streets of Saffron towards the train station. Alex had since put on a long black coat and was carrying a bag of supplies that Sabrina and Bolt had prepared for him.

"Okay, now the train leaves in just a few minutes." Bolt told Alex. "I know you still have a Pokemon at the Pokemon Center here, but you can have it transported to the one in Goldenrod no problem."

"I understand." Alex replied.

"Hold it right there, maggot!" a gruff voice called from behind. Alex and Bolt turned around to see Carson and at least twenty Team Rocket grunts standing behind them. "The only place you're going is back to Team Rocket HQ!"

"Sorry, but Alex has other plans." Bolt told Carson. "But if you guys are looking for a fight, I'd be happy to give you one."

"And just who're you?" Carson demanded in an irritated tone.

"Me? Why I'm the bad-ass rocker of Sinnoh, Bolt Hanson!" Bolt proudly announced. "I'm sure you've heard of me."

"Afraid not." Carson replied. "Now get out of our way!"

"Hey Alex, you better get that train before it leaves." Bolt told him. "I'll take care of these losers. Good luck finding your girl."

Alex hesitated for a second, but then nodded and headed towards the station as quickly as he could. The grunts meanwhile began throwing several Pokeballs that sent out several Koffing.

"Man, what is it with you Rockets and Poison-types?" Bolt asked jokingly. "Send out whatever you want though, because I've got two Pokemon that can handle anything you dish out! One is my very first Pokemon. Let's rock Luxray!"

The Pokemon that Bolt called out was a good-sized lion-like creature that was blue and had a mane of black fur. That same color fur covered its front legs, rear, and tail. Its eyes were red and gold, and on the tip of its tail was what looked like a four-pointed star.

"That's all you've got, a Luxray?" Carson laughed.

"Luxray happens to be one of my most powerful Pokemon, but hold your comments until you see the other Pokemon I have in store for you." Bolt said as he pulled out another Pokeball. This one had an orange top with a yellow lightning bolt on it, and on the sides of the ball were two yellow circles. "Let's rock Raikou!"

Emerging from the thrown ball was a yellow saber-toothed cat with black stripes. It had red eyes, and over its nose was what looked like a blue X. Adorning its forehead was a dark-grey crest, and on its back was something that looked like a purple thundercloud. Its thin tail looked like a light-blue lightning bolt. Bolt then took the guitar from his back and flipped a switch on the side of it. He then played a quick riff on the instrument.

"Okay Raikou, start us off with a Rain Dance!" Bolt commanded.

Raikou bent down its head and moved his front right leg forward. It then lifted its head and roared at the sky. A bolt of lightning shot up from the cloud on its back into the air. The sky became covered in thick thunderclouds and rain began to pour down.

"Okay Raikou and Luxray, hit those Koffing with Thunder!" Bolt commanded.

Both of the electric felines roared and shot yellow bolts of lighting into the sky. Several lightning bolts rained back down and knocked out half of the Koffing.

"Okay Raikou, finish it with Extrasensory!" Bolt commanded.

Raikou's eyes glowed with a gold light, and then from the crest on its forehead it fired a gold colored beam. It used the beam to hit the rest of the Koffing, which all fell to the ground. Carson's face showed a look of annoyance and fear.

"Okay pal, still think you can take me on?" Bolt dared Carson.

* * *

Meanwhile, Alex finally entered the station. He quickly spotted the train and headed towards it. But half way to it, Recruits 30 and 53 suddenly emerged from behind a pillar.

"Stop right there 17!" Recruit 53 commanded. "You're coming back with us!"

"You don't have to do this!" Alex told them. "You have lives of your own! You don't have to be slaves to Team Rocket!"

"Are old lives are over!" Recruit 30 told him. "All that is left to us is to serve Team Rocket!"

"This is our destiny now." Recruit 53 coldly added. "We no longer have a past. Team Rocket is the only future we have. Now come with us quietly, or we will have to use force."

Suddenly both Recruit 30 and Recruit 53's eyes went wide. They grabbed their heads and began screaming in pain. After a few moments they fell to the ground, blood running down their noses. Soon after, Mewtwo walked our from behind Alex wearing his tattered cloak.

"What did you do to them?" Alex asked.

"The same thing I did to you." Mewtwo answered. "Now hurry and get on the train."

"Why are you helping me?" Alex asked.

"Because you interest me." Mewtwo replied bluntly. "Now go."

Alex decided not to argue and got to the train as fast as he could. He boarded it a split second before it started to leave the station. Alex was on his way to Goldenrod City, but his journey was just beginning.

* * *

**Author's Note:** There is of course a story behind Bolt which will be explained later. In fact, he'll show up in sort of a pseudo-prequel to this story. But once again I'm getting ahead of myself.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	4. Won't Give Up

**Author's Note:** I've been looking forward to writing this chapter for weeks now weeks now. It introduces a villain who will be a big-time character in my future Pokemon stories.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

Chapter 4: Won't Give Up

In an old warehouse near the docks of Vermillion City, two thugs were sitting at a table polishing evolution stones. Both of them were quite pleased about the huge amount of money they were going to make selling those stones on the black market. They were going about their business when suddenly the door to the warehouse was busted down. A creature stood in the doorway. It was fox-like and stood on its hind legs at about five feet tall.

The creature had a pointed snout and ears. Its upper-torso was covered in thick black fur, while much of the rest of its fur was dark-grey. The inside of its ears were red, as were the claws on its hands and feet. Its eyes were light blue and rimed with red fur. On the top of its head was a large mass of red fur tied back in a ponytail by a large teal orb. The thugs recognized the creature as a Zoroark, and they were quite surprised to see one breaking into their hideout.

"Terribly sorry for barging in." Said a female voice from outside. "But I have some urgent business to discuss with you gentleman."

Stepping in the doorway was a woman who looked to be in her twenties, at least as far as the thugs could tell. A black mask with light-blue lenses covered the top half of her face. She had pale skin and blond hair that went just past her shoulders. Her height was about the same as Zoroark's. Aside from the mask she wore a black shirt with a large red R on the front and a white skirt with a red stripe near the bottom that ended just above the knees. The young woman also wore knee-high boots, each with a red band near the top, and elbow-high gloves with a similar color design. On top of her head she wore a black cap with a red feather sticking out the right side. And around her neck she wore a white cape that was draped over her left arm and went down almost as far as her skirt.

Perched on the woman's right shoulder was a small black bird with a large crooked yellow beak. It had red eyes and the feathers atop its head were formed into the shape of a hat. It looked as if it had a black feather duster for a tail. The thugs recognized the bird as a Murkrow.

"What is the meaning of this?" the smaller of the two thugs demanded. "Who are you?"

"I am Noir Mask." The young woman answered. "I'm a special agent from Team Rocket, and I've come to register a complaint."

"Take your complaints elsewhere!" the larger of the two thugs shouted.

"Oh, but you see this Dusk Stone I have came from the two of you." Noir Mask said as she held up a stone that looked to be made of black crystal. "You sold this stone and several others to Team Rocket not too long ago. But when I tried using this stone to evolve my Murkrow into a Honchkrow, nothing happened. Obviously this is a fake, and so were several of the other stones you sold us."

"We know nothing about this!" the smaller of the two thugs insisted.

"Oh look, there's a Dusk Stone on the table there." Noir Mask pointed out. "Let's see if that one is the real thing."

On cue, Murkrow flew over to the table and pecked the stone with its beak. In a flash of white light the stone disappeared, and a second later Murkrow's body began to glow white and change shape. When the light clear Murkrow had grown to twice its original size and his feathers had become dark-blue. Its neck had grown shorter and its beak had become straighter. On its chest was a large crest of white feathers, and it had gained white circles around its eyes. Murkrow had become a Honchkrow.

"Well isn't that interesting? That stone was obviously the real thing." Noir Mask observed as Honchkrow flew back over to her side. "It's clear that you tried to swindle Team Rocket by selling us fake stones and kept the real ones for yourselves. Did you really think that our organization would be dumb enough not to notice?"

"I told you we shouldn't have tried pulling this stunt on Team Rocket!" the larger thug told the smaller one.

"Shut up!" the smaller thug shot back.

"I think its time for the two of you to meet an old friend of mine." Noir Mask said as she pulled out a Pokeball from under her cape. The top half of this particular ball was purple and had two pink circles on top. A small M was right above the button on the front of the ball. "Go Darkrai!"

Emerging from the thrown ball was a shadowy creature with an hourglass-shaped body. It had not legs but rather hovered in the air. Its hair looked like a billowing white ghostly flame and covered one of its light-blue eyes. Around its neck was a somewhat spiky growth that resembled a necklace of large red beads. The rest of its body was black and tattered.

"A-a Darkrai?" the larger thug said with a very frightened expression.

"L-look, I'm sure we can work something out." The smaller thug begged with a very frightened smile.

"Experience my hell." Noir Mask said in a cold low voice. "Darkrai, hit them with Dark Void!"

Darkrai raised its two arms up and between his claws formed a ball of black energy. It threw the ball and it suddenly split in two. The two spheres hit the thugs and knocked them out. It was clear that they were asleep and having nightmares. Noir Mask pulled out a cell phone and hit a single number.

"Rocket HQ." a woman's voice said on the phone after a few rings.

"This is Noir Mask." Noir Mask told the woman. "Get me Giovanni."

"One moment please." The woman replied. The phone rang a few more times.

"What have you to report?" Giovanni's voice finally asked.

"I just checked out our newest evolution stone supplier." Noir Mask told him. "They were trying to swindle us just as we thought. I've already dealt with them."

"Excellent work." Giovanni said in a pleased tone. "Now report back here at once. I have an urgent mission for you."

"Understood sir." Noir Mask replied before flipping off the phone. She then called back Zoroark, Darkrai, and Honchkrow and pulled out another Pokeball. "Go Hydreigon!"

The creature that emerged from the thrown ball was a three-headed dragon that was black with a blue underside. It had six black wings that looked a bit like strips of tattered cloth. All three of its faces were blue, and around each of its necks were what could be described as fuchsia-colored flower petals. If it had feet, they had long since decayed and become useless. Noir Mask got on Hydreigon's back and flew off.

* * *

A bit later, Noir Mask was walking the corridors of Team Rocket HQ to Giovanni's office. Zoroark was walking along side her. Many of the Team Rocket agents that saw Noir Mask quickly got out of her way. Noir Mask was used to this, as many of the agents in Team Rocket feared her. She had gained the reputation as a very formable and ruthless Pokemon Trainer, and Giovanni would often use her as an internal affairs agent. So a sudden visit from Noir Mask was nothing that any member of Team Rocket wanted to have. At last Noir Mask and Zoroark entered Giovanni's office. Giovanni was there with Carson and Dr. Trask.

"Ah, right on time as usual Noir Mask." Giovanni greeted. "I'd like you to meet Drill Sergeant Carson and Dr. Trask of the science division."

"If I may ask sir, what is the mission?" Noir Mask inquired.

"Straight to the point as always." Giovanni commented. "That's one of the things I like about you. Not long ago Dr. Trask proposed the rather ambitious idea of finding young individuals with the potential to become powerful Pokemon Trainers, and brainwash them to serve the organization. Thus creating an elite army. It was all going well until one of the recruits in this experiment escaped."

"Did the brainwashing wear off?" Noir Mask asked.

"That is what is believed to have happened, despite Dr. Trask's insistence that such a thing is impossible." Giovanni said as he gave Dr. Trask an angry look. "We think he's regained his memories, which Dr. Trask supposedly blocked out. Here's his file."

At this point Giovanni handed Noir Mask a file folder. Noir Mask quickly looked over the first page.

"Recruit 17, Alex Blaze." Noir Mask read before closing the folder. "I'm guessing you want me to bring him back in?"

"Correct, you will be accompanying Sergeant Carson on this mission." Giovanni told her. "We believe he's in Goldenrod City at the moment. A few agents have already been dispatched to that location, but I would feel better if you two went down there anyway. Mr. Blaze was brought into the experiment as a request from a friend, so I'd prefer to leave nothing to chance."

"Understood sir." Noir Mask replied with a salute.

"Boss, with all due respect I can handle this on my own." Carson insisted.

"You've already failed to recapture Recruit 17 once." Giovanni pointed out. "Not only that, you've lost two of our other experimental recruits. It is clear that Noir Mask should take the lead on this mission."

"If you have a problem with me, feel free to take it up with me in a battle." Noir Mask dared Carson.

Zoroark growled at Carson. Carson immediately backed down, as he knew whom he was dealing with. Though he had only heard rumors about what Noir Mask was capable of, he didn't want to find out if they were true.

"That's more like it." Giovanni commented. "Now get to it, both of you!"

* * *

Meanwhile in Goldenrod City, Alex had already picked up Cinder from the Pokemon Center and headed to the condo where Nora and her father lived. The man at the front desk had told Alex that the Winters' penthouse apartment hadn't been used in quite sometime, but Alex wanted to see for himself. He didn't put it past Nora's father to have the front desk lie if he showed up. But as Alex found out for himself, the apartment truly was vacant. Alex decided that his next move should be to check out the mansion in Ecruteak City that the Winters family sometimes used in the autumn.

Just as Alex was about to head out, something flew down from the sky and almost knocked him to the ground. It was a rather large bird that looked like it was covered in silver armor. It spread its wings to reveal red feathers underneath. Alex recognized the bird as a Skarmory, and it seemed clear that it wasn't going to let Alex leave without a fight.

"Let's go Cinder!" Alex called as he threw out Cinder's Pokeball.

Cinder emerged and suddenly the small red box it had picked up at the warehouse glowed with a white light and vanished. Less than a second later, Cinder's body glowed white and changed shape. When the light cleared, Cinder had become much larger and bulkier. The two flames that were on the top of its head had merged into a single flame, and its yellow beak had been replaced by large pink lips. Its tail had become completely enveloped in flames, and his torso had gained a red and yellow pattern of flame-like stripes. Its upper arms had gained black shackles and his forearms had turned yellow and had taken the shape of cannons. Cinder had evolved into a Magmortar.

"Well, I guess you've recovered." Alex commented. Skarmory flew at Cinder to attack. "Cinder, let that thing have it with Flamethrower!"

Cinder raised its right cannon arm and shot a stream of fire that hit the Skarmory's left wing. The armored bird crashed to the ground. Alex decided to try and capture Skarmory and threw out an Ultra Ball. The ball hit and sucked Skarmory in. It wiggled only a few times before making the sound that signaled the capture was complete. Alex walked over and picked up the ball. He then sent the Skarmory out. The metal bird was experiencing pain from its injured wing.

"Sorry about that pal, but you didn't give me much choice." Alex said as he walked over and got out a bottle of Hyper Potion that Sabrina had provided him with. He sprayed the substance on Skarmory's wing, and within moments it was healed. "I think I'll call you Blade, what do you think?"

The Skarmory that had become known as Blade squawked and flapped its wings approvingly, and at that moment two men in Team Rocket uniforms showed up.

"Well, well, it looks like we found that escaped lab rat they're making a fuss about at HQ." one of the Rocket grunts commented. "You're coming with us buddy."

"I don't think so." Alex said defiantly. "Now get lost!"

"So you wanna do things the hard way, huh?" the second grunt commented. "Fine by us. Go Vileplume!"

Emerging from the grunt's thrown ball was a creature with a round blue body, short arms and legs, and a large red flower with white spots on top.

"Go Victreebel!" the first grunt called out.

Emerging from the second thrown ball was a large yellow pitcher plant-like creature with two leaves for arms. Its eyes were below its large mouth, which was covered by an equally large leaf that had a tail-like vine growing down from it.

"This is your last chance punk!" the second grunt warned. "Come with us quietly, or experience a world of hurt!"

"Let's see, I've got a Fire-type and a Flying-type out right now, and your idea is to take me on with a pair of Grass Pokemon?" Alex pointed out. The two grunts suddenly realized their error. "Blade, take down that Victreebel with Air Cutter!"

Blade flapped its wings and sent out a sharp blade of wind that hit Victreebel and knocked it to the ground. The yellow plant creature was out cold.

"Cinder, hit Vileplume with Flamethrower!" Alex commanded.

Cinder fired off another stream of flames that hit Vileplume and set its flower on fire. The flower Pokemon ran around frantically until the flames went out and then fell to the ground unconscious. Before the grunts could react, Alex dashed over and punched the first grunt in the face, knocking him out. He then kicked the second one in the gut. The grunt fell to the ground, but was still conscious.

"I want you to give Team Rocket a message." Alex said to the grunt as he grabbed him by the shirt. "I'm not letting you drag me back in. I'm going to keep searching until I find Nora, and I'll take down anyone who gets in my way."

Alex let go of the grunt and, called back Cinder and Blade, then walked off. Watching from the top of a nearby building was Mewtwo.

"He is quite determined to find his mate." Mewtwo commented to himself. "But will that determination be enough?"

* * *

Back in the icy wastes of Unova, Nora was continuing to wander through the cold. She had sent out Glaceon and Snorunt to keep her company. The snow had subsided and the wind had actually died down, so the walk was more tolerable than usual. While walking, Snorunt came across a light-blue stone. It touched the stone with its right hand, and the suddenly glowed with a white light, surprising Nora and Glaceon.

When the light had cleared, the Pokemon that had been Snorunt was hovering in the air. It had gained a white mask-like face with a purple jaw and a purple diamond shape on the forehead. Its eyes had turned yellow with ice-blue irises, and two small crystal horns adorned its head. Its arms hung down from the sides of its head, and beneath dangled down a long white robe-like body with a red sash that gave one the impression it was wearing a kimono. Snorunt had become a Froslass.

"Oh, so you're a girl." Nora observed. "I actually had no idea. It's a little hard for me to tell what gender a Pokemon is sometimes, but I do know that all Froslass are girls."

Before Nora could continue the conversation any further, another Pokemon emerged from around the corner. It was a small brown almost football-shaped creature with closed eyes and a pig-like snout. Nora recognized the creature as a Swinub. Before anyone could react, Froslass raised her arms forward and formed a ball of black and purple energy between her hands, which it threw at Swinub. The little Pokemon was flipped on its back and seemed to have a difficult time getting up. Nora took the opportunity and threw a Pokeball at it. Swinub was easily captured.

"I guess you learned that move from watching Glaceon." Nora said to Froslass as she went over and picked up Swinub's Pokeball. "Well it looks like we have another friend on our journey."

With that Nora sighed and continued on. Both Glaceon and Froslass gave Nora concerned looks which she quickly noticed.

"Don't worry, I'll be okay." Nora assured them. "I just don't like the cold the way the two of you do. But I'm not giving up until I see Alex again. I'll endure whatever this land throws at me to get back to him."

Nora continued to walk on with Glaceon and Froslass following close behind. Her journey was far from over.

* * *

**Author's Note:** So Noir Mask is the big-time character I mentioned up top. One of the purposes of this story became to introduce her. The idea was to just create an elite Team Rocket agent that would give Alex major problems, but she ended up taking on a life of her own. One of the major inspirations behind Noir Mask was some of the masked villains that have appeared in some of the Gundam anime series'. But there's a lot more behind her than that. It's safe to say that Noir Mask will appear in future Pokemon stories.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	5. Hunted

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

Chapter 5: Hunted

I had been a couple hours since Alex had left Goldenrod City. Noir Mask and Carson had only just come in on the train from Saffron, which had been mostly vacant. The two had learned of Alex's rather effortless escape from the two grunts that had tried to apprehend them. Carson chewed out the two grunts for their incompetence. Noir Mask meanwhile had gone to check out where Alex had been.

"Our Mr. Blaze apparently had gone to a condo owned by Calvin Winters." Noir Mask told Carson. "It appears he's looking for someone."

"Yeah, one of the two idiots that let him escape said he was looking for hi girlfriend." Carson told her. "Looks like his memory's come back after all."

"Well it doesn't matter either way." Noir Mask said as she pulled out a Pokeball from behind her cape. "What we need to do now is find him. Go Houndoom!"

Emerging from the thrown ball was a large black dog with a red snout and underbelly. In place of ears were two long white horns that curved back, and it had a thin tail that ended in a point like that of a demon. On its back were three white bands that looked like ribs, and around its neck was what looked like a white collar with a small skull on the front.

"Do you have the item I asked you to bring?" Noir Mask asked Carson.

"Yeah, I've got the cap Recruit 17 wore." Carson said as he handed the Team Rocket uniform hat to her. "But I still don't see what good it is."

"Just shut up and watch." Noir Mask told him as she took the hat.

Noir Mask held the hat in front of Houndoom. The black dog sniffed the cap and then charged off.

"There, Houndoom had our target's sent." Noir Mask told Carson. "And it looks like its not very old. Let's go before the trial goes cold."

With that, Noir Mask and Carson followed Houndoom.

* * *

Back in Unova, Nora continued on through the snow and icy winds. Upon entering another small forest, she came upon a man with a long black beard wearing an eye patch over his left eye and a black fur lined coat and gloves with black pants and boots. Nora did not like the looks of this individual and decided to avoid him, even though he could've potentially provided her with directions to the nearest town. But as Nora tried to get away, the man spotted her.

"Hey, you Nora Winters?" the man called.

"What if I am?" Nora asked.

"I'm a bounty hunter hired by your father to come find you." The man answered. "Now let's go!"

"You can tell my father that I'm not coming back!" Nora said defiantly.

"C'mon girl, don't be stupid." The hunter said sounding annoyed. "You can't survive out here in this wilderness."

"I'll survive anything to get back to Alex!" Nora told him. "Now go away!"

"Fine, looks like I'm gonna have to do this the hard way." The hunter sighed. "Go Mightyena!"

The hunters threw out three Pokeballs, and from them emerged three dog-like creatures with shaggy fur that was black on the back, tail, and feet, and grey everywhere else. Immediately Nora sent out Glaceon, Froslass, and Swinub. The Mightyena charged at the three Pokemon.

"Glaceon, use Iron Tail!" Nora commanded.

Glacieon flipped in the air as its tail began to glow with a white light. It hit the first Mightyena in the forehead with its tail. As the second Mightyena charged at Froslass, Froslass gave it a seductive wink that sent out pink energy in the shape of a heart. The attack hit the Mightyena in the face, and immediately the dog-like creature sat down and started panting and wagging its tail at Froslass.

"Wow so you know Attract." Nora said to Froslass. "You're full of surprises. Now hit that Mightyena with Ice Beam!"

Froslass fired a beam of white energy from the diamond shape on her forehead, which hit the disoriented Mightyena and froze it in ice. Meanwhile the third Mightyena was about to attack Swinub. Swinub suddenly glowed with an icy-blue aura and suddenly snow-covered rocks rained down from the sky and hit all three of the Mightyena, knocking them out. Suddenly Swinub began to glow white and change shape. When the light cleared, Swinub had gotten larger and its fur had gotten shaggier. It had gained a hump on its back and small tusks near his mouth. Swinub had evolved into a Piloswine.

"What the hell?" the hunter exclaimed.

"Glaceon, use Blizzard!" Nora commanded.

Glaceon breathed out a huge storm of snow at the hunter. While the hunter was temporarily blinded, Nora quickly called back her three Pokemon and ran away as quickly as she could. She kept running for about twenty minutes until she was sure that the hunter wasn't following her. Nora decided to take a quick rest against a nearby tree. It was clear that her father had found out she'd run off. Nora had been expecting that, and she knew that she had to be more careful.

* * *

Back in Johto, Alex was headed towards Ecruteak City. As he passed a small pond, Zoroark suddenly jumped out from behind the bushes along the path.

"Alex Blaze I presume?" Noir Mask said as she also emerged from the bushes.

"I'm guessing you're not on your way to a costume party." Alex commented, as he looked Noir Mask over.

"I am Noir Mask, a special agent of Team Rocket." Noir Mask said, introducing herself. "And as you've probably guessed, I've been sent to retrieve you."

"I told your goons back in Goldenrod I'm not going back with you." Alex said defiantly.

"I'm afraid neither of us has a choice." Noir Mask told him. "I have my orders. Now you can come along with me quietly, or I can take you in by force. And I strongly suggest that you come quietly."

"Get lost!" Alex told her.

"Fine, but don't say I didn't warn you." Noir Mask sighed. "Go Hydreigon and Bisharp!"

Hydreigon emerged from its Pokeball. Noir Mask's other Pokemon, Bisharp, was about as tall as Zoroark and looked as if it was wearing a black rimed red helmet with a gold blade on top and a gold mask. It also looked as if it were wearing red shoulder pads and silver gloves with a blade on the side of the wrist. Sticking out of the front of its torso were two bladed disks that made Bisharp look as if it had an external ribcage.

"This is your last chance." Noir Mask told Alex. "Surrender or face my wrath."

Before Alex could make a move, something quickly charged up from behind and got between him and Noir Mask's three Pokemon. The thing in question was a yellow-white horse with a horn on its head like a unicorn's. Its mane and tail were made out of flames, and it had more flames coming out around its hooves. Alex knew this Pokemon to be a Rapidash, and there was someone riding it. This someone was a young woman who looked to be in her early twenties. She had long black hair, green eyes, and was wearing a red tank top, denim vest, denim shorts, and black boots. Noir Mask looked as if she was not at all pleased to see the rider.

"It's been awhile Noir Mask." The rider said to the elite Rocket agent. "Just what kind of trouble are you causing now?"

"Lisa Flare." Noir Mask spat. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I was just passing through when I saw you attacking this guy." Lisa said as she dismounted Rapidash and called it back to its Pokeball. Alex could see that Lisa was about six feet tall. "Since when do elite agents of Team Rocket spend her time harassing travelers?"

"That's none of your concern!" Noir Mask shouted. "But now that you're here we can finally settle the score between us."

"Whatever." Lisa replied as she threw out a Pokeball. "Go Phoenix!"

Emerging from the thrown ball was a tall humanoid creature with a red bird-like face and body. It had grey talons for hands, yellow feet, and long blond hair-like feathers that split down the middle like a V. The creature was about the same height as Lisa was. Alex knew the Pokemon to be a Blaziken.

"Go Arcanine!" Lisa called out as she threw out another ball.

The creature that emerged was a very large dog that was mostly orange with black stripes. It had a shaggy tail of cream-colored fur, and that same colored fur covered the top of its head, chest, snout, and the back of its legs. Lisa pulled out another Pokeball, one that was orange and white and had a yellow lightning bolt on top and large yellow circles on the sides.

"Go Entei!" Lisa called out as she threw the ball.

Emerging from the thrown ball was a large brown lion-like creature with a cream-colored underside. Its paws were white and on the sides of its back were large spiked grey plates. Between those plates was something that looked like billowing grey smoke. Entei's face looked as if it were a mask with a three-pointed yellow crest on the forehead, red panels on the sides, and a white plate on the front that looked like a mustache. Alex was very amazed to see Entei, as he knew it to be a Legendary Pokemon that was often thought of as a myth.

"Hey you, you might want to get out of here now." Lisa told Alex.

As much as Alex was blown away by the appearance of Lisa's Pokemon, he decided to follow her advice and leave. But before he could Carson appeared and got in his way.

"You're not getting away this time." Carson said smugly.

With that Carson sent out three Pokemon. The first was a very large rock-like creature with grayish-brown skin that had orange-red patches on its head, shoulders, and around its stomach. It had a club-shaped tail and what looked like blades on its elbows. On its nose was a drill-like horn. Alex knew this Pokemon to be a Rhyperior, and he had seen Carson use it before.

The second Pokemon, a Tryanitar, was a large green lizard-like creature with rock-like skin, a blue belly, and a back full of spikes. Carson's third Pokemon of course was Steelix. Alex sent out Quill, Ironhide, and Cinder to deal with them. Meanwhile the battle between Lisa and Noir Mask was just getting started.

"Bisharp, attack with Night Slash!" Noir Mask commanded.

The blade on Bisharp's right wrist began glowing with a purple energy as it charged at Arcanine. But before the attack could hit, Arcanine seemed to vanish, surprising both Noir Mask and Bisharp.

"Too slow." Lisa commented. "Arcanine, attack Bisharp with Flame Charge!"

Arcanine reappeared and ran at Bisharp. Its body became completely covered in flames. The fiery canine rammed into Bisharp with such force that it was knocked into a tree.

"Entei, attack Zoroarc with Flamethrower!" Lisa commanded.

Entei breathed out a stream of flames at Zoroark, but the monster fox quickly managed to dodge the attack.

"Night Daze Zoroark!" Noir Mask commanded.

Zoroark's eyes began to glow blue and its body began glowing with a red aura. It raised its arms up and slammed them into the ground, sending out a tidal wave of crimson energy. Entei was hit hard by the attack but quickly recovered.

"Entei, fight back with Eruption!" Lisa commanded.

Entei reared back its head and spat a stream of molten fire that hit Zoroark dead on.

"Hydreigon, attack Entei with Dark Pulse!" Noir Mask commanded.

Hydreigon reared back its three heads and fired several rings of black energy at Entei. Phoenix however got in the way of the attack and took little damage.

"Phoenix, attack with Hi Jump Kick!" Lisa commanded.

Phoenix jumped high in the air and hit Hydreigon in the chest with a flying kick from its right foot.

"Sky Uppercut!" Lisa commanded.

Phoenix's right talon began to glow with a white aura and curled into a fist. It then hit Hydreigon's main head with a devastating punch to the jaw. Meanwhile, Alex was struggling against Carson.

"Okay Rhyperior, hit that wimpy Quilava with Drill Charge!" Carson commanded.

Rhyperior charged, bent down, and hit Quill with its drill horn, throwing Quill up into the air. Quill slammed back into the ground but somehow managed to get back to its feet.

"Tyranitar, hit that Lairon with Flamethrower!" Carson commanded. Tyranitar breathed out a continuous stream of fire at Ironhide, hitting it right in the head. "Just give up already and come back with us like a good boy."

"I'll never give up. Not until I find Nora!" Alex said with a determined expression. "Ironhide, hit Tyrnaitar with Iron Head!"

The plate on Ironhide's head began to glow white. Ironhide then charged into the stream of flames and hit Tyranitar hard in the chest.

"What the hell?" Carson exclaimed with a look of surprise.

"I told you I won't give up, and neither will my Pokemon!" Alex declared.

Quill and Ironhide cried out and suddenly their bodies began to glow with a white light and change shape. When the light cleared, Ironhide had grown much larger and was standing on its hind legs, while its front legs had developed into arms. Much of its body had turned dark-grey and its tail had become more developed. Two long horns had grown through the armor plate on his head, which had changed to become like a mask. Ironhide had evolved into an Aggron.

Quill meanwhile, had also become larger and was standing on its hind legs. It had gained the appearance of a creature that looked to be a cross between a bear and a badger. The red flame vents on its body had moved to spots around its neck. Quill had evolved into a Typhlosion. With its evolution complete, Quill roared and spike flames erupted from the vents around its neck.

"Ironhide, hit Tyranitar with Superpower!" Alex commanded.

Ironhide began to glow with a blue aura and charged Tryanitar. It then hit the green lizard with a series of devastating blows from its claws until Tyranitar was knocked to the ground. Quill meanwhile, had opened its mouth, and in front of it formed a large ball of light-blue energy.

"That's a Focus Blast." Alex observed. "Okay Quill, use that blast to hit Rhyperior!"

Quill fired the ball at Rhyperior, hitting it in the chest. The attack seemed to leave Rhyperior with a devastating blow.

"Ironhide, finish Rhyperior with Iron Tail!" Alex commanded.

Ironhide's tail began to glow with a white light. It charged forward and slammed its tail into Rhyperior's back. The rock-skinned creature fell to the ground.

"I'm not out yet punk!" Carson declared. "Steelix, hit them with Hyper Beam!"

Steelix opened its mouth and fired a beam of golden light. Quill, Ironhide, and Cinder managed to dodge the attack.

"Cinder, hit Steelix with Fire Spine!" Alex commanded.

Cinder raised its cannon-like arms and fired two streams of flames that surrounded Steelix like a tornado. The twister cleared after a few moments, and Steelix looked as if it had taken a bad hit.

"Quill, finish it with Inferno!" Alex commanded.

The flames around Quill's neck grew larger and brighter. Quill then breathed out a storm of flames that hit Steelix like a wave. The metal snake fell to the ground with a large thud.

"Damnit!" Carson shouted as he called back his three Pokemon. "We have to retreat Noir Mask!"

Noir Mask gritted her teethe and called back Zoroark, Hydreigon, and Bisharp.

"That idiot!" Noir Mask spat as she sent out Houndoom. "It looks like we'll have to finish this another time Lisa. Smog attack Houndoom!"

Houndoom breathed out a cloud of thick purple smoke that caused Lisa, Alex, and their Pokemon to cough. The smog lifted after a moment to reveal that Noir Mask, Houndoom, and Carson were long gone.

"Looks like they got away." Lisa observed. "They'll probably be back, but not for awhile. We might as well take a minute to rest."

With that, Lisa sent out three other Pokemon. One of course was Rapidash. One of the other two was a large white fox with silky fur and nine beautiful tails. Alex knew this Pokemon to be a Ninetails. The other was a small four-legged mammal with red fur, large black eyes, long ears, a thick mane of yellow fur around its neck, and a tuft of yellow fur on its forehead. Alex identified the Pokemon as a Flareon. Flareon walked up to Lisa and looked up at her expectantly.

"Oh, okay, but only for a few minutes." Lisa smiled as she held out her arms. Flareon jumped up and Lisa began carrying it.

Alex meanwhile had decided that a quick break would be a good thing and sent out Blade. Alex's four Pokemon began to socialize with a few of Lisa's. Meanwhile Ninetails went over to the pond and looked down into it while Rapidash trotted over to take a drink.

"What's your Ninetails looking at?" Alex asked Lisa.

"Herself probably." Lisa answered. "Ever since I evolved her and entered her in that Pokemon Contest back home she's been a little vein. So, care to tell me why Team Rocket is after you?"

The two Pokemon Trainers sat down, and Alex told Lisa the twisted story of how Nora's father had abducted him and had Team Rocket brainwash him into a soldier. Lisa was both surprised and disgusted by the tale.

"Just when I thought Team Rocket couldn't get any worse." Lisa sighed. "They must want you back pretty badly if they sent Noir Mask after you. She's one of the most dangerous members of the organization."

"Seems like you know her pretty well." Alex observed.

"I ran into her about ten years ago." Lisa told him. "From the moment we met she seemed to hate me for some reason, and she still does it looks like. It's like she blames me for something, but I have no clue what that is. Anyway, it was actually in this area not long after I captured Entei."

Suddenly Alex remembered the story Bolt told him about fighting Team Rocket ten years before in Ecruteak City with a few others. He realized that it would've been around the same time Lisa faced Noir Mask.

"Hey do you know a guy named Bolt?" Alex asked.

"Let's see, blond? Carries a guitar? Thinks he's God's gift to women?" Lisa asked.

"I don't know about that last part, but that sounds like him." Alex replied.

"I know him." Lisa confirmed. "It was not long after I caught Entei that I helped Bolt and these two other friends of mine fought Team Rocket in Ecruteak City. Of course that wasn't Noir Mask, that was against the leader of Team Rocket himself and a bunch of his goons."

"I see…" Alex replied.

"So what do you plan to do if your girlfriend isn't in Ecruteak?" Lisa suddenly asked.

"I'm not sure." Alex answered honestly. "But I'm not giving up until I find her."

"Well if you don't find her there, I do have a couple of friends in the city that might be able to help." Lisa told him as she suddenly got up.

"Who are they?" Alex asked.

"Well they might not be there. The two of them like to travel a lot." Lisa answered. "But you'll know the guy by his Pikachu. Well, I think I'll be going."

With that, Lisa called back all her Pokemon except Rapidash.

"Where are you headed?" Alex asked.

"I'm not really sure myself." Lisa answered as she mounted Rapidash. "But maybe we'll run into each other again. In any case, it was nice meeting you Alex. I really hope you find Nora. Good luck."

With that, Rapidash galloped away. Alex got back up and called back his Pokemon. It was time for him to get back on the road as well.

* * *

**Author's Note:** There is a connection between Lisa and Noir Mask, but I'm keeping that a secret for now. One of the most difficult parts of writing this story so far is the battles. There have been a lot of new attacks added to the game since I played it. Originally I had planed Ironhide's evolution into an Aggron in the next chapter, but it seemed to make more sense to do it during the battle with Carson. Anyway, in the next chapter a famous character from the anime is going to show up. I'm not going to name who it is, but I left a pretty big hint. And he won't be alone.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	6. The Cabin

**Author's Note:** I had to do a major rethink of this chapter. This morning I read a review that pointed out a couple of major flaws to this story. One of those flaws was the the way I've been writing the battles. It seems I've been making them a little too simplistic. Battle scenes are something that I usually have a hard time writing, and what makes it harder is having to work in attack names. But I'm going to try and do better with that.

The other flaw that was pointed out to me was that I haven't really developed Alex and Nora's characters very much. While there is no excuse for that, I think the reason for it is that I might have been rushing this story a bit to get to a certain point. I think I've also gotten a little carried away with some of the side characters. This chapter is meant to remedy that problem a little. So the appearance of the characters from the anime I said would happen in this chapter has been moved to the next chapter.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

Chapter 6: The Cabin

Nora had left the forest and was plodding through a field of white snow as the wind continued to blow against her. Several hours had past and there had been no sign of any more hunters sent by her father. However the sun was beginning to set and night was fast approaching. Nora knew she needed to find some kind of shelter quickly. She frantically looked around and in the distance saw a black spec that almost looked like a house.

As quickly as she could, Nora headed towards that spec with the desperate hope that it actually was shelter of some kind. She stumbled a few times and fell face first in the snow, but she kept getting up and pressed on. By the time the sun had almost set, Nora had reached that speck in the distance, which as she thought was an old cabin made of logs that had darkened with age and a snow-covered roof with a chimney. A single frosted over window was on the sidewall facing Nora. Thankful for any kind of shelter, Nora found the door and quickly went inside.

The inside of the house was practically covered in dust and cobwebs that showed that the little cabin had not been used in years. There were no other rooms in the cabin except for the one Nora was standing in. The only furniture in the place consisted of a long wooded table and two chairs, a single bed, and a small stove by the fireplace. While the cabin was not the most luxurious of accommodations, Nora knew that it was better than sleeping outside or in a cave. She went over to the fireplace and went about trying to se a fire with the one old log available, and right off the bat she was having little success.

"Need some help?" a voice asked from behind Nora, scaring her half to death.

Nora turned around to see an old woman standing about four feet tall and wore what looked to be a white robe that seemed almost feathered. The old woman's hair was stark white and done up in a bun, while her face was incredibly wrinkled. But her eyes were what Nora noticed most about the old woman. They were deep blue and seemed to gaze into Nora's very soul.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't think anyone lived here." Nora said to the old woman. "I didn't mean to just barge in."

"It's quite alright my dear." The old woman told her. "I don't blame you for wanting to come in from the cold. Feel free to spend the night."

"Thank you very much." Nora said gladly.

"Not a problem at all." The old woman replied. "Now sit down while I start a fire."

"Are you sure?" Nora asked with concern. "I don't want you to trouble yourself."

"Just because I'm old doesn't mean I can't start a fire." The old woman chuckled. "Just sit down and I'll have it started in no time. And after that I'll prepare us something warm to eat. I'm sure that by now you're starving."

Nora complied, though she felt guilty about letting a woman of such advanced age try and start a fire. But in a surprisingly short amount of time, a fire was roaring in the once dormant fireplace. Soon after, the old woman fired up the old stove and prepared two bowls of stew for both herself and Nora. There was very little conversation during the meal. This was mostly due to the strangeness of the old woman. Try as she might, Nora could not figure out who the old woman was or where she came from.

"Um, could you tell me how far it is to the next town?" Nora asked, finally breaking the silence.

"The next town?" the old woman repeated sounding surprised. "Why, there isn't another town for miles around. It would take you a journey of several months to reach one?"

"Are you sure?" Nora asked with a somewhat desperate tone.

"Well… there is one town that is more within reach." The old woman said after thinking it over for a moment. "But it would still take you several weeks, and the journey would be far too dangerous for you. It would probably be better for you to stay here for now."

"No, please! You have to tell me which way this town is!" Nora begged. "I don't care how dangerous it is, I just have to get there!"

"Why so desperate child?" the old woman asked. "What is so urgent that you would risk death from the cold and other hazards?"

"I need to find him." Nora told the old woman. "I need to find Alex."

"You must care about this boy a lot." The old woman observed.

"We met when I was about twelve." Nora began. "My father and I had just moved to Goldenrod City and I had started attending a new school. The school wasn't too far away from where we lived, and I didn't want to seem stuck up by coming and going in a limo, so I decided to walk there and back. But on my home from my first day this band of older boys ambushed me. Needless to say their intentions weren't honorable…."

* * *

_Three young punks who looked to be in their mid-teens had cornered the young Nora Winters in an ally. The first of the group had black hair and wore a red and black-striped t-shirt and faded jeans. The second had long brown hair and wore a green t-shirt and black jeans. The third boy, who appeared to be the leader of the group, wore an orange ski hat, grey hooded sweatshirt, and faded jeans. All three of them had menacing smiles on their faces._

_"So what should we do with her?" the boy in the stripped shirt asked. "Doesn't look like she has any cash on her."_

_"Nah, but look at that uniform." The ski capped boy pointed out. "Looks like she goes to one of those fancy private schools. Her parents are probably loaded. Bet they'd pay a lot to get her back if we took her."_

_"Great idea." The boy in the green shirt agreed._

_As the trio advanced on Nora, another boy about Nora's age suddenly rushed in and kicked the green-shirted boy in the knee, causing him to cry out and fall to the ground. The newcomer then grabbed Nora by the hand and ran off with her. The three hoodlums gave chase after a moment. Nora and her savior lost them by ducking into another ally. As they caught their breath, Nora took a good look at the one who saved her. He had red spiked hair and wore jeans and a red t-shirt._

_"Um, thank you for saving me." Nora said to the stranger after catching her breath. The stranger gave her an irritated look._

_"You idiot!" the boy shouted. "Don't you know how dangerous it is to wander these streets by yourself? Those punks could've really hurt you!"_

_Nora burst into tears from the boy's outburst, causing the boy to feel very guilty._

_"H-hey, I'm sorry." The boy said with a very apologetic expression. "I didn't mean to yell at you like that. I just wanted you to know how dangerous it is for a rich girl like you to be out here by yourself."_

_"Well you didn't have to yell at me you know!" Nora said as she calmed down a bit._

_"So… do you live around here?" the boy asked after Nora had completely calmed down._

_"Yeah, I live in that big building over there." Nora replied as she pointed at a tall condominium not too far away._

_"I should've guessed." The boy sighed. "Well it's not too long a walk, but just to be safe why don't I come with you?"_

_"You'd walk me back home?" Nora asked sounding surprised._

_"Sure, it's not like I have anything better to do." The boy replied. "Plus those guys might come after you again."_

_"Okay." Nora agreed. "Um, my name's Nora. Who're you?"_

_"I'm Alex Blaze." The boy answered._

_After checking to see if the coast was clear, Alex and Nora headed for the condo. They were silent until they reached the street and waited for the cars to pass._

_"Mind if I ask you something?" Alex said, breaking the silence. "Your family's rich, right?"_

_"Well my father owns a big company, so I guess you could say we're rich." Nora answered. "Why do you ask?"_

_"Well wouldn't it make more sense for you to come to your school in a car or something?" Alex asked._

_"My father did tell me I should take the limo, but the school's only a short walk away." Nora replied. "And I don't want the other kids to think I'm stuck up. I want to be treated like everybody else."_

_"Don't tell me you're planning to walk to and from school again tomorrow." Alex said with a somewhat exasperated expression. "I mean after what happened today I'd think you'd want to play it safe and just ride there and back."_

_"Well I know what happened today was scary, but I refuse to let it stop me from walking." Nora said defiantly._

_"Great." Alex said with a sarcastic sigh as the cars stopped and they finally crossed the street. "Well, I guess this means that I'm going to have to walk you to and from school every day."_

_"Are you serious?" Nora asked with surprise as she stopped walking for a moment._

_"Of course I am." Alex said as he kept walking. "I mean those guys might come after you again."_

_"But, I don't want to be a bother to you." Nora said as she caught back up to Alex. "Surly you must have better things to do than waste your time escorting me."_

_"Not really." Alex told her. "I come by here to my own school and back. So it's no big deal. Plus I'd feel bad if I let a girl like you get hurt."_

"Oh, okay." Nora said, as she blushed a bit. "So… where do you live?"

_"The Goldenrod City Orphanage." Alex answered bluntly. "My parents died when I was two. I don't really remember much about them."_

_"I'm sorry to hear that." Nora said as her expression saddened. "My mom died not long after I was born."_

_"But you still have your dad, right?" Alex pointed out._

_"I guess…" Nora sighed. "But it seems like he tries to control me sometimes. It's like I'm a caged bird."_

_"Sounds rough." Alex commented as they reached their destination. "Well, we're here. I guess I'll see you tomorrow."_

_"Are you really going to walk me to and from school tomorrow?" Nora asked._

_"Tomorrow and every day after that." Alex answered. "That's a promise."_

_"Okay, well then I guess I'll see you tomorrow." Nora said before turning and entering the building._

* * *

"…The next morning Alex was waiting for me outside the building to walk me to school." Nora continued. "And that afternoon he was waiting outside my school to walk me home. It was like that every day. And as time went on we got to know each other more and more. I think it was just before I graduated high school when we realized when I realized that I had fallen in love with him. And he realized that he had fallen in love with me.

"But of course my father never approved of me even being around Alex. To him Alex was just some penniless orphan that I had no business being around. That didn't stop Alex and I from seeing each other. We ended up going out in secret. My father found out though and sent me to this wasteland while he did who knows what with Alex. But I won't let that stop me from getting back to him! So please… tell me how to get to this town!"

"I see… so this is the truth of your heart." The old woman said after hearing Nora's story. "Very well, in the morning I shall tell you which way you need to go. But for tonight you should rest here."

"Thank you very much." Nora said gratefully with tears in her eyes.

* * *

The next morning, Nora was standing outside the door to the cabin listening to the old woman's directions.

"From here you must head west to a place known as the Giant Chasm." The old woman told her. "It is a long journey filled with many dangers. You must also beware the Giant Chasm itself. It is said that the chasm contains a creature that devours both humans and Pokemon to try and fill the void within its heart. So be careful."

"I will." Nora told the old woman. "Thank you very much."

"You must also remember this my child." The old woman added. "Believe in the truth within your heart. That truth is the love you have for the boy, Alex. If you believe in that truth and you will not fail in your journey, for that truth will allow you to endure the hardships of this land. Do not be taken in by the deceptions of others, otherwise you will find nothing but despair."

"I think I understand." Nora replied. "Again, thank you for everything."

With that, Nora continued on her quest. The old woman stood in the doorway and watched her walk into the distance.

"The girl's love for the boy is true." The old woman said to herself. "But is the boy's love for the girl true I wonder. That only time will tell."

The old woman suddenly vanished into thin air as if she were a ghost. But by that time Nora was too far away to notice.

* * *

**Author's Note:** So this chapter reveals Alex and Nora's backstories a bit. Obviously the old woman Nora met was not a normal human. I sort of implied the old woman's true identity from her appearance and dialogue, but I'm not entirely sure of it myself.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	7. Vision of the Phoenix

**Author's Note:** This chapter ended up being pretty long for some reason. Originally I had planned for this chapter to be the second half of the last chapter, but I'm glad I made the decision to split it up. Anyway, a couple big characters from the anime appear in this chapter.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

Chapter 7: Vision of the Phoenix

Alex had finally arrived in the ancient heart of the Johto Region known as Ecruteak City. The buildings and houses of the city all looked as if they had been built hundreds of years ago, yet they all seemed so new. Alex felt as if he had stepped back through time. Looming over the whole city in the northeast was the magnificent ten-story structure known as the Tin Tower. It was so tall that Alex had seen it before entering the city.

Upon entering the city, Alex began looking for the mansion that the Winters family used during the summer as a vacation home. He didn't know exactly where the mansion was, but Alex knew what it looked like. Nora would often show Alex pictures from her vacations in Ecruteak after returning home, and very often there were pictures of Nora and her father standing in front of the mansion. Alex never cared that Nora's family was wealthy, but he did envy Nora a little for having a summer home in Ecruteak. Ecruteak City was a place that Alex had always wanted to visit because of its old legends, and it was ironic that after finally coming to the city he couldn't enjoy himself.

After wandering the streets of the city for hours, Alex finally came to a large two-story mansion with brown walls and an emerald-green roof. A wall of white stone that had gained small cracks in a few spots surrounded the whole structure. Right across the stone-paved street from the mansion was a small shop of some kind with a red bicycle parked in the stand in front. The iron barred gate of the wall surrounding the mansion was open. Alex went up and knocked on the front door a few times, but each time there was no answer.

It became very clear that Nora was not at the mansion, and this realization made Alex hit the door in frustration. He was sure that Nora would be at the mansion, or at least he had hoped she was because he had no idea where else to look for her. With no other options, Alex went back through the gate, and as soon as he did two more Team Rocket agents ambushed him.

"You must be the guy who's got the people back at HQ all riled up." One of the agents said to Alex. "One of the reports we got said you might show up at this place."

"I'm really in no mood to deal with you guys right now, so get lost." Alex said in a threatening tone.

"And what're you gonna do if we don't punk?" the second of the agents dared. Alex immediately responded by sending out Quill.

"Use Inferno!" Alex commanded.

Spiked flames erupted from the vents around Quill's neck as it roared. The large Fire Pokemon breathed out a storm of flames that the two Team Rocket goons quickly ducked out of the way to avoid. The flames did however roast the bike in front of the small shop across the street to a crisp.

"What the hell punk!" the first Rocket agent exclaimed. "Are you trying to kill us?"

"Oh that's it! This guy is dead!" the second Rocket agent declared as he pounded his right fist into his left palm.

Just as the two agents began to advance, a ball of blue light suddenly flew from behind them and hit the ground in front of them. Alex and the two agents turned to see that the thing that threw the ball was a bipedal jackal-like creature standing in front of the small shop. It had red irises and the fur of its arms, legs, tail, and some of its face was blue, while the fur of its paws was black. There was also a band of black fur around its eyes that made it look as if it was wearing a mask. The fur of the creature's torso was cream-colored and made it look as if it was wearing a shirt. A metal spike protruded from the creature's chest, and it had metal spikes on the backs of the paws on its arms.

"What the hell is a Lucario doing here?" the first of the agents asked.

"I have a better question." A voice said from inside the shop. "What the hell is trash like you doing in this city?"

Emerging from the shop with a shopping bag in his right hand was a young man who looked to be in his early twenties. He had long black hair tied back in a ponytail and wore a blue vest over a black t-shirt and faded jeans. Perched on his shoulder was a yellow rodent-like creature with long pointed ears that had black tips, red circles on its cheeks, and a tail in the shape of a lightning bolt. Alex knew the little creature to be a Pikachu, and he wondered if the stranger was one of the friends that Lisa had spoken of.

"Who the hell are you?" the second agent demanded to know.

"Just a guy who was out buying mushrooms for dinner and saw some jerks from Team Rocket causing trouble." The stranger answered. "Now the way I see it you've got three choices. You can either let that guy's Typhlosion roast you, I can have my little buddy Pikachu zap you until you're fried to a crisp, I could just have Lucario beat you up, or you could just leave quietly. So what'll it be?"

"Pikaaa." Pikachu added in a threatening tone as sparks started to crackle from the circles on its cheeks.

"I don't know about you but I'm outta here!" the second agent told the first before running off.

"Me too!" the first agent agreed as he joined his comrade. "They aren't paying us enough for this job!"

With the two Team Rocket agents gone, Alex called Quill back to its Pokeball. He then walked up to meet the stranger who had just backed him up.

"You okay pal?" the stranger asked Alex.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Alex told him.

"Good, it looked like you could handle yourself, but I thought I should OH MY GOD!" the stranger shouted as he noticed the bicycle that Quill had accidentally burned. "My girlfriend's bike! It's ruined!"

"Sorry, I guess Quill and I got a little carried away." Alex said apologetically.

"This is the third bike I've borrowed that's gotten wrecked." The stranger said with an expression of terror, not once looking to face Alex. "She'll never believe that I didn't have anything to do with it. Oh man, she is gonna kill me!"

"Look, I'll take responsibility for the bike." Alex told the stranger.

"I bet she'll make me sleep on the roof for the next month. Wait, what?" the stranger said as he suddenly registered what Alex just told him. "Are you really willing to take the heat for me?"

"Of course." Alex replied. "I mean it's only right."

"Wow, thanks man! You're a real life saver." The stranger said gladly. Pikachu and Lucario also had expressions of gratitude on their faces. "My name's Ash Ketchum by the way. Mind telling me who you are?"

"I'm Alex Blaze." Alex replied.

"So what brings you to Ecruteak Alex?" Ash asked.

"I'm looking for someone." Alex answered. "Say, you wouldn't happen to know if there've been people living in that mansion would you?"

"You mean that big house right across the street?" Ash said looking at the place Alex was talking about. "Well I do know that a rich family uses the place during the summer, but that house has been empty for months. Sorry."

A defeated expression appeared on Alex's face after hearing that the mansion had been vacant. He walked back over to the wall surrounding the house and punched it as hard as he could. Alex pulled his fist away to reveal spots of blood left from his knuckles.

"Damnit, where is she?" Alex shouted.

"Hey, I don't know what your problem is, but you should try and calm down." Ash told Alex. "Why don't you come to my place for awhile? I need you to explain to my girlfriend what happened to her bike anyway."

Alex sighed and went with Ash, Pikachu, and Lucario as Ash wheeled to destroyed bike down the road. They walked in silence, and after a few minutes they spied a small brown house with a red roof. Standing on the front porch watering a hanging plant was a young woman with long orange hair wearing a pink jacket, a blue and white-stripped shirt, and a short blue skirt. Standing next to the young woman was a short green frog-like creature with a yellow stomach with a swirl pattern and a single long hair on the top of its head.

"Well, here we are." Ash said as they approached the house. "This is the place my girlfriend and I use when we're not off traveling the world. That's my girlfriend on the porch by the way. She and her Politoed must be watering the plants again."

Ash, Alex, and the two Pokemon finally reached the house.

"I'm back Misty!" Ash called to his girlfriend, who immediately stopped watering the flowers and came over.

"That took a little longer than I expected. Did you have trouble finding the…?" Misty began to ask, but she stopped when she noticed the condition of her bicycle. Her smile slowly turned to an expression of homicidal rage.

"Misty, I can explain what happened." Ash began frantically.

"What did you do to my bike Ash?" Misty asked through gritted teeth in a low and terrifying voice that made Ash, Pikachu, Lucario, and Politoed cringe in fear.

"I wasn't me this time Misty, honest!" Ash insisted as Misty loomed towards him.

"I'm the one who ruined your bike." Alex interrupted. "My Typhlosion and I got a little carried away fighting off a couple of guys from Team Rocket."

"YOU wrecked my bike?" Misty asked looking surprised. "Okay then, who the hell are you, and why was Team Rocket after you?"

"It's… a long story." Alex said with a distressed expression, causing Misty to soften a bit.

"…Well why don't you come in the house and tell us all about it?" Misty suggested.

A few minutes later, Alex went into the house with Ash and Misty. They entered the small dining room, where Alex noticed a display case containing a few trophies, some medals, and several Pokemon League Gym Badges. For some reason Alex assumed that they belonged to Ash. While the three sat down at the table and had tea, Alex told Ash and Misty the twisted story of how he was abducted and brainwashed by Team Rocket, and how he was searching for Nora.

"It's bad enough that Team Rocket steals Pokemon. Now they're kidnapping people and turning them into soldiers?" Ash said angrily after Alex finished his tale.

"So what do you plan to do now that you know Nora's not here in the city?" Misty asked Alex.

"I honestly have no clue." Alex admitted with a defeated sigh. "I guess I should've known that Nora's father wouldn't be so stupid as to put her somewhere where I could get to her easily."

"Hey Misty, maybe Alex should stay with us for awhile." Ash suddenly suggested. "I mean it's not like he has any place else to go."

"…Okay, but only for a few days." Misty agreed after a moment.

"Thanks, I really appreciate it." Alex told the couple.

* * *

Later that night, the two Team Rocket agents that had ambushed Alex outside the mansion had met up outside the city with Noir Mask and Carson. They reported what happened with Ash, and needless to say, Carson was very displeased.

"Are you telling me that you let some punk with a Pikachu run you off?" Carson shouted. "You useless morons!"

"They were probably wise to run away." Noir Mask interrupted. "If the person these two ran into is who I think he is, they wouldn't have stood a chance."

"What're you talking about?" Carson demanded to know.

"About ten years ago I was sent to this area to investigate the activities of two very incompetent Team Rocket agents and their rather odd Meowth." Noir Mask began. "They had apparently been wasting time and resources chasing after a trainer with a rather worthless Pokemon, a Pikachu. I judged them unworthy of being members of Team Rocket and Giovanni himself cast them out of the organization. After that I was sent to make sure the trainer this duo was chasing wasn't worth going after. But I soon found out that this trainer was far more important than anyone at HQ thought.

"This trainer, a boy named Ash Ketchum, was connected to a prophecy concerning a very powerful Pokemon. And there were three other trainers connected to that Pokemon's servants. You've already met two of them. The first one was in Saffron City according to the report I read."

"You mean that punk with the Raikou?" Carson asked in a surprised tone.

"Yes, and the second one we ran into on the way here, Lisa Flare." Noir Mask replied. "I have a personal score to settle with her, but that is not important at the moment. What you do need to know is that Ash Ketchum and these three other trainers foiled a major Team Rocket operation here in Ecruteak City."

"This Ash kid doesn't sound too tough to me." Carson said smugly.

"Do not get overconfident." Noir Mask told him. "I needn't remind you that your track record has not been the best so far. We'll go after Mr. Blaze tomorrow, and when we do we need to proceed with caution."

* * *

Meanwhile at Ash and Misty's, Alex was sitting up in the dining room look out the window up at the moonlit sky. He found it very difficult to sleep that night, as he was worried about Nora. Alex couldn't stop wondering where Nora was or if she was okay. He was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he didn't notice when Ash entered the room wearing a white t-shirt and shorts, which was what he normally wore to bed.

"So I'm guessing you can't sleep." Ash said, suddenly snapping Alex out of his thoughts. "Wondering where your girlfriend is?"

"I guess it's pretty obvious, huh?" Alex replied. "What're you doing up?"

"Just getting a midnight snack." Ash said as he sat down at the table with Alex. "Don't worry, I'm sure we can figure out where Nora is."

"…I feel so useless." Alex admitted. "I should've been able to stop this whole thing from happening. But I end I couldn't protect Nora. Hell, I can't even protect myself. Sure I've been able to fight off some of the smalltime Rocket goons and even Carson, but this whole journey I've had you, or Lisa, or Bolt, or Sabrina, or even Mewtwo stepping into protect me."

"Don't sell yourself short." Ash told him. "Believe it or not, I've felt the same way as you. A few years ago in the Sinnoh Region Misty got hurt pretty badly. In fact she almost died. I felt helpless and kicked myself for not being able to protect her when she needed me to most. But I stayed by her, and even made myself stronger. And in the end everything turned out okay. It's obvious that you love Nora very much, and if your desire to find her and protect her is strong enough, I'm sure it'll all work out."

"I've protected Nora since the moment I met her." Alex revealed. "Before that time I didn't feel like my life was worth anything, that I was just a worthless orphan that nobody wanted. But Nora changed all that. She made me feel like I had a purpose, and over time I grew to love her."

"Well then, you're on your way." Ash said encouragingly. "But for tonight you should at least get some rest. You won't be much use to anyone if you're tired."

"I guess you're right." Alex relented, and with that he went back out to the living room to sleep on the couch.

* * *

The next day, Alex was sitting on a chair in the backyard once again lost in thought. Misty meanwhile was watering the plants with Politoed again, while Ash, Pikachu, and Lucario were training by practicing some form of tai chi.

"You know Alex, I've been thinking that maybe you could find out Nora is from her father." Misty suddenly suggested.

"Yeah, like he'd tell me." Alex said sarcastically.

"Well it's not like I saying you should just ask him nicely and hope he'll just tell you where she is out of the goodness of his heart." Misty said sounding a little offended. "You beat it out of him if you have to."

"That… sounds a little extreme." Alex said, surprised that Misty had suggested such a brutal action. "Not that I wouldn't mind beating the crap out of Nora's dad."

While Alex and Misty were talking, Ash and Lucario suddenly sensed something was wrong. Suddenly several rings of black energy flew into the yard. With incredible speed, Ash jumped in front of Misty and Alex, and from his raised right hand came a barrier of blue energy that blocked the rings. When the smoke from the resulting explosion cleared, the group saw Zoroark coming towards them.

"It's been a long time Ash Katchum." Noir Mask said as she calmly walked into the yard. "It seems you've learned a few new tricks since our last encounter."

"I thought I sensed you lurking nearby Noir Mask." Ash responded. "Why don't you do us all a favor and get lost?"

"I'd love to, but I have orders to retrieve Alex Blaze." Noir Mask replied with a confident smirk. "And I'd really prefer not to have to ruin your lovely home to do that. So if you'd be so kind as to hand Mr. Blaze over, I'll be on my way."

"Ash, you get Alex out of here." Misty said as she stepped up to face Noir Mask. "I'll handle this."

"Misty, are you sure?" Ash asked with a worried expression.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine." Misty assured him before pulling out an orange and white Pokeball with a yellow lighting bolt on top and yellow circles on the sides. "Go Suicune!"

Emerging from the thrown ball was a creature that looked to be a cross of a wolf and a leopard. It had no visible nose and its snout was white, as was its underside. The rest of its body was blue, though in a few places it had large white diamond-shaped spots. It had two ribbon-like tails that came around to the front and had a flowing quality about them. On its forehead was a large blue-green horned crest that had a sort of crystal shape to it, and on its back was a sort of purple flowing cape that gave one the impression of seeing an aroura.

"So you're going to do this the hard way." Noir Mask said sounding amused. "That's fine by me."

"Get out of here Ash!" Misty insisted.

After another moment's hesitation, Ash and Alex ran around to the front of the house with Pikachu and Lucario taking up the rear.

"This shouldn't take long." Noir Mask said confidently. "Tear her apart Zoroark!"

Meanwhile, Alex and Ash had gotten to the street when Steelix suddenly erupted from the ground in front of them. Their path of escape was cut off.

"You really didn't think it would be that easy to get away, did you?" Carson said in a smug tone as he stepped out from behind Steelix.

"I handle this guy Alex." Ash said before Alex could pull out a Pokeball.

"So I take it you're the punk with the Pikachu that scared off those wimps yesterday." Carson observed. "Even Noir Mask said you were trouble, but you don't look so tough to me."

"You know I really don't like you." Ash told Carson as he pulled a Pokeball from his belt. "You've attacked me and Misty at our home, and I've heard from Alex that you're the guy who's been training the people Team Rocket had kidnapped and brainwashed to turn them into soldiers. That's why I'm going to end this quick. Go Ho-Oh!"

Ash threw the ball into the air, and from it emerged a gigantic bird that was mostly red in color and had a large beak. Its underside was white, and around its eyes were black circles. Around its long neck was a single green band, and shining green feathers rimmed its wings. It had a tail made of long golden feathers, and a gold comb adorned the top of its head.

"Future Sight Ho-Oh!" Ash commanded.

Ho-Oh's eyes suddenly glowed with a blue light. Ash's eyes glowed with the same light as well, but it only lasted a moment.

"Are you okay?" Alex asked with concern.

"Yeah, but we're going to have to have a talk after this." Ash told him before turning his attention back to the battle.

"What sort of wimpy attack was that?" Carson laughed. "Nothing happened!"

"Wait for it." Ash said with a confident smile. "Right now, eat Sacred Fire!"

Ho-Oh's eyes suddenly glowed blue again and his body became covered in beautiful rose-colored flames. With a flap of its mighty wings, Ho-Oh sent those flames right at Steelix. The giant metal snake fell to the ground nearly hitting the front of the house, its body red-hot from the heat.

"Damnit, I'll show you!" Carson angrily declared as he called back Steelix. "Go Tyranitar!"

Tyranitar roared after emerging from the thrown ball. Ash was not at all intimidated however.

"Now you're not even trying." Ash said mockingly. "Use Sunny Day Ho-Oh!"

Ho-Oh let out a cry and glowed with a golden aura. With a flap of its wings, Ho-Oh sent a beam of gold light into the overcast sky. A second later a beam of sunlight broke through the clouds and shined down onto the field.

"What's going on?" Carson demanded to know.

"Sunny Day increases the power of the sun and makes Fire Type moves stronger." Ash explained. "But that's not the only thing it does. Ho-Oh, use Solar Beam!"

Ho-Oh reared back its head and fired a beam of pure solar energy from its beak. The beam hit Tyranitar in the chest and knocked it to the ground.

"How could you use a Solar Beam so fast?" Carson demanded as he called back Tyranitar.

"Sunny Day also allows for Solar Beam to charge a lot faster than it would normally take." Ash told him.

"Well I'm not out yet! Go Rhyperior!" Carson called out as he threw his next ball. As soon as Rhyperior came out of its ball, it was suddenly lifted up into the air and hurled back down hard by some kind of invisible force. "What the hell?"

"That's Future Sight." Ash explained. "It's a delayed attack that strikes later in the battle. I figured that it would hit when you sent out your last Pokemon. Now finish it Ho-Oh! Use Solar Beam!"

Ho-Oh reared back its head again and fired off another beam of sunlight that hit Rhyperior in the chest. It was clear that Rhyperior could no longer fight.

"Now to get rid of you the same way I got rid of some other Team Rocket members that used to follow me around!" Ash announced. "Pikachu, use Thunder Bolt!"

"Pik… a… CHUU!" the little electric rodent called out as it fired off a massive bolt of yellow electricity. The bolt hit the ground under Carson and Rhyperior and created a huge explosion that flung them high into the air.

"I'll get you, you punks!" Carson shouted as he sailed through the air.

"Well, glad that's over." Ash said as he turned to Alex.

"Ash, help!" Misty called from the back yard, causing Ash to panic and rush back there. Alex, Pikachu, and Lucario followed close behind, while Ho-Oh simply landed on the roof of the house.

When they got back there, they saw that Misty's battle with Noir Mask had taken an ugly turn. Zoroark was nowhere to be seen, but Darkrai had taken its place. The shadowy Pokemon hovered on the field while Suicune lay on the ground unconscious. It was clear by Suicune's flinching movements that it was having a very bad nightmare.

"It seems that Suicune is experiencing my hell." Noir Mask laughed. "You shall join it in a moment, but for now I think I'll make your dear Suicune suffer a little more. Darkrai, use Dream Eater!"

Darkrai raised its arms forward and began to glow with a sinister purple aura. The energy extended from Darkrai and surrounded Suicune. Suicune cried out in pain as Darkrai started to pull some other kind of energy out of it. The attack stopped though when a ball of blue light that seemed to come from above suddenly hit Darkrai.

"Was that Lucario?" Alex asked looking a bit confused.

"That was an Aura Sphere, but it didn't come from Lucario." Ash told him, not once taking his eyes off the battlefield. "Look up and to your left."

Alex looked where Ash told him to look and saw Mewtwo hovering in the air. Mewtwo created another Aura Sphere in its right hand and threw it at Darkrai, followed quickly by another one.

"About time you showed up." Ash said to Mewtwo.

"It seemed that until now you had things under control." Mewtwo replied.

"Well whatever. Let's just finish this quick." Ash responded. "Ho-Oh, use Sacred Fire!"

As Mewtwo continued throwing Aura Spheres, Ho-Oh once again became covered in rose-colored flames, which it sent at Darkrai with a flap of its wings. Darkrai was hit by the storm, and though it was still floating it was clear that it had been badly burned.

"Return Darkrai!" Noir Mask called as she quickly called Darkrai back to its Pokeball. She then threw out another ball. "Use Smog Houdoom!"

Immediately after emerging from the ball, Houndoom breathed out a thick purple cloud that caused everyone to cough. Ho-Oh flapped its wings only once and blew the cloud away. But by that time Noir Mask was long gone. Suicune meanwhile had woken up, though it seemed like the Legendary Pokemon had been in better shape.

"You okay Suicune?" Misty asked it as she walked over.

"Hey Misty, maybe you should get Suicune to the Pokemon Center." Ash suggested. "If you think you can make it there on your own I need to talk to Alex and Mewtwo about something."

"Okay, but hurry back." Misty told him.

Ash nodded and went around to the front of his house with his two Pokemon and Alex. Moments later Ho-Oh landed in front of the house. Pikachu hopped up on Ash's shoulder and then Ash, Lucario, and Alex got on Ho-Oh's back. Ho-Oh flew off and Mewtwo followed close behind. A bit later Ho-Oh landed on top of the Tin Tower. Standing on the top of that edifice, Alex could see all of Ecruteak City, and even Goldenrod City in the distance.

"Why'd you bring me here?" Alex asked Ash.

"Ho-Oh kinda makes a scene in the city." Ash answered. "Plus I like to come up here every now and then. It's a nice place to talk actually."

"And just what do you want to talk to me about?" Alex asked.

"You see sometimes when Ho-Oh uses Future Sight, it gets a vision of stuff that happens a little later in the future than just the attack in the battle." Ash began. "And if what it sees is an important event, Ho-Oh shares it with me. What Ho-Oh saw during the battle with Carson was where Nora is going to be fairly soon."

"What? Where is she?" Alex asked anxiously.

"It's more like where she's going to be." Ash answered. "What Ho-Oh showed me takes place probably a few weeks into the future. And what I saw was Nora at a place called the Giant Chasm. It's a landmark in the Unova Region."

"I think I've heard of that place." Alex said as he suddenly realized something. "Isn't that in a really cold part of Unova?"

"Yeah, and there's something else you need to know." Ash told him. "Nora is going to be in great danger, so you better hurry and get there."

"I will." Alex told him. "And thank you."

"Hey Mewtwo, if you're going to tag along with Alex, maybe you should actually travel along with him instead of just following him from a distance." Ash suggested. "You might learn more if you actually got to know him."

"I'm not sure what difference that would make." Mewtwo replied. "But I will do as you suggest."

* * *

A few hours later, Alex and Mewtwo were standing outside of Ash and Misty's home. The couple had helped Alex pack a few things and was about to see him off.

"There should be a boat leaving from Olivine City to Unova tomorrow at about noon." Ash told Alex. "You should be able to make it if you leave now."

"Thanks again for all your help." Alex told Ash and Misty, and with that he and Mewtwo turned to leave.

"Hey Alex?" Misty called after the two travelers had gotten only a few feet away.

"Yeah?" Alex asked as he stopped and turned.

"Next time I see you, you better pay me for that bike you ruined." Misty warned, though it was with a very friendly expression.

"Don't worry, I'll pay you back." Alex told her before continuing on.

* * *

**Author's Note:** So in this story Ash is obviously quite different from how he appeared in the anime. He's actually aged (which means his voice most likely changed), he's a little wiser, he's captured Ho-Oh, and he's a Jedi, uh I mean an Aura User. Not to mention the fact that Misty is actually his girlfriend. This is sort of the character I thought Ash should've developed into. After this story I plan to do another story about how Ash captured Ho-Oh (basically sort of a prequel to this story). It always ticked me off a bit that the anime never explored Ash's connection to Ho-Oh. I ticked me off too that they never did anything with the GS Ball either, but that's a whole other subject.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	8. Dragon of Ice

**Author's Note:** I meant to have this chapter up over the weekend, but I wasn't feeling well. Better late than never though. This chapter focuses on our villains. Mainly on Noir Mask.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

Chapter 8: Dragon of Ice

After suffering a brutal defeat from Ash, Ho-Oh, and Mewtwo, Noir Mask had retreated east to the caves of Mt. Motar. Deep and dark were the caves of Mt. Motar, but Noir Mask did not mind the darkness at all. In fact Noir Mask was rather partial to the dampness and the darkness of the caves, and it was the perfect place to hide out while she tended to the wounds of Zoroark and Darkrai. After managing to start a small fire in order to see, Noir Mask began treating the wounds of her two Pokemon using supplies that she brought with her every time she went out into the field. Noir Mask had even done what she seldom did and removed her trademark mask to make sure she could see what she was doing.

"There, I think that should do it." Noir Mask said as she applied medicine to Darkrai's burns. The burns healed within a matter of seconds. "Feeling better Darkrai?" Darkrai's only response was to nod a few times. Noir Mask gave a sigh of relief. "Good, I was worried. That was the last of my Burn Heals, and I wasn't sure if it would be enough. Those burns from the Sacred Fire attack looked really awful. How 'bout you Zoroark, are you feeling better?"

Zoroark responded by growling happily and trotting over from where it was sitting and licked Noir Mask on the face a couple times. That display of affection clearly showed that it was in much better condition than it was after losing to Misty and Suicune.

"Well you're obviously better." Noir Mask laughed. "That's great, but the downside to all this is that our target got away. Giovanni isn't going to like this."

Zoroark and Darkrai both gave Noir Mask a concerned look. They could clearly see the troubled expression on Noir Mask's face.

"Hey, don't worry." Noir Mask said as reassuringly as she could. "We've served Team Rocket pretty well in the past. I'm sure Giovanni will take that into account. He may not punish us for just one mistake."

Suddenly Noir Mask's phone began to ring, startling both her and her two Pokemon companions. Noir Mask took a deep breath before answering the phone.

"Noir Mask here." She said in her usual confident tone.

"What is your progress?" Giovanni asked from the other end of the phone.

"I'm afraid I have lost track of Mr. Blaze sir." Noir Mask reported somewhat nervously. "He got to Ecruteak City, and then Ash Ketchum interfered."

"Ketchum you say?" Giovanni asked in a somewhat surprised tone. "…Well then it's understandable that you lost the target. In any case it no longer matters. Carson can handle the pursuit of Mr. Blaze for the time being. Right now I have a much more important assignment for you. Report back to the base as soon as possible."

"Understood sir." Noir Mask replied before hanging up the phone. She then turned back to Zoroark and Darkrai "Strange, for some reason it seems that Giovanni always gets skittish when Ketchum is involved. It was like that ten years ago too. Well, I guess it doesn't matter." She said as she put her mask back on. "Right now we need to get back to HQ."

* * *

Some time later, Noir Mask entered Giovanni's office with Zoroark once again following behind her. As usual, Giovanni was at his desk, but right away Noir Mask noticed someone else in the room. Sitting in front of the desk was a man with pale skin, black hair, and a beard, wearing a white suit with a blue tie. In his right hand the man held the end of a cane, though it was not the type of cane used to aid in walking.

"Ah Noir Mask, once again you are prompt as usual." Giovanni greeted. "I would like you to meet an associate of mine, Calvin Winters."

Giovanni's visitor got up from his chair and shook Noir Mask's hand.

"It is a pleasure to meet you my dear." Calvin said to Noir Mask. "Giovanni has told me much about the work you've done."

"Mr. Winters is the one who asked us to recruit Mr. Blaze into our experimental program." Giovanni explained.

"I see. Then I apologize for letting him escape Mr. Winters." Noir Mask responded.

"It's quite alright." Calvin told her. "While I would've preferred that Mr. Blaze remained in the custody of your fine organization, he is still of little concern to me. I have made very sure that what he seeks is far out if his reach. Besides, your talents are wasted on such a trivial mission."

"Calvin has come with a proposal that would require our best resources." Giovanni said as Noir Mask and Calvin sat down.

"What's the mission?" Noir Mask asked.

"Tell me my dear, are you familiar with the Legendary Dragons of the Unova Region?" Calvin asked.

"I'm afraid not." Noir Mask answered.

"Then allow me to enlighten you." Calvin said with a sinister smile. "In the distant past of the Unova Region, there was a powerful Dragon Pokemon that served the two brothers who united the kingdom of Unova. For a time there was prosperity, but like most siblings the two brothers began to argue over how the kingdom should be ruled. There conflict was so great that it not only divided the kingdom, but also the great Dragon Pokemon who served them. One of the parts of that Pokemon became Reshiram, the white dragon of truth, and served the older brother. Another part became Zekrom, the black dragon of ideals, and served the younger brother.

"But there is another part of this legend that is not well known in the Unova Region. It seems that there was a third Pokemon created when the original dragon split. A sort of remnant of what the original dragon once was. That dragon is known as Kyurem, and one could say that it is the embodiment of nothingness."

"Perhaps it is time we take a look at the data that you provided for us Calvin." Giovanni interrupted.

The motorized drapes in the office closed and the room went dark. Moments later a blue hologram of a Pokemon Noir Mask had not seen before appeared above the desk. The Pokemon in question looked to be a dragon. It had a long neck and stood on two legs, but its arms were not very well developed. Its face appeared to be armored by what looked like shards of ice. The right wing of the Pokemon the hologram depicted looked as if it had been broken off, and its tail looked like a damaged engine component of some kind.

"Kyurem is very unique in that it is an Ice-Type Pokemon in addition to being a dragon." Calvin continued as he pointed his cane up at the hologram. "And as far as Ice Pokemon go, its freezing powers are unparalleled. I'm sure that both of you are aware that a good part of Unova has frozen over recently. Many scientists are unable to explain the phenomenon, but my own researchers and several other sources at my disposal all tell me that Kyurem is responsible. I assume Giovanni my old friend you can comprehend what we could achieve if we harnessed this power for ourselves."

"Yes, we could hold the world for ransom, crush any opposition that stands in our way." Giovanni observed.

"We could reshape the Pokemon world to our own design." Calvin added.

"So I assume our objective then is to retrieve Kyurem." Noir Mask interrupted.

"That is correct," Calvin confirmed, "but it is a little more complicated than that. My company has been unable to pinpoint Kyurem's exact location, but I have learned of a group that might know, Team Plasma."

"I've heard reports about them from a few of my agents in Unova." Giovanni interjected. "That last reports said that they had split into two factions that are at odds with each other."

"That's right, and one of those factions knows the exact location of Kyurem." Calvin revealed. "My sources have located one of their bases. Hopefully by infiltrating it we should be able to find out where to look."

"So I'm guessing that I'm the one you have in mind to raid the base." Noir Mask observed. "Should be an easy enough job."

"That was my thinking." Calvin told her. "After that it should be relatively easy to capture Kyurem."

"Hmm… I find this little proposal of yours intriguing Calvin." Giovanni said after a moment. "Very well, you and Noir Mask may take one of our airships to Unova for the operation."

"Thank you my old friend." Calvin said looking very pleased.

* * *

The next day aboard a Team Rocket airship heading for the Unova Region, a young female Rocket grunt named Lucy headed down the corridor to Noir Mask's quarters. Lucy had been given the unpleasant task of informing Noir Mask that they were nearing their destination. Lucy got to the door and took a big gulp before hitting the intercom button.

"What is it?" Noir Mask's voice asked over the intercom in an irritated tone.

"Um, Agent Noir Mask ma'am, I have some very important news from the bridge." Lucy stated nervously. "It's urgent that I tell you."

"Fine, come on in." Noir Mask sighed.

The automatic door slid open to reveal a dimly lit room. Lucy walked in to find Houndoom lying near the door. The fiery hound growled at Lucy as she walked in. Not long after that, Lucy noticed Zoroark standing nearby. Moments later Noir Mask walked out of the bathroom wearing nothing but her mask and a pink towel. Her hair was wet, indicating that she had just gotten out of the shower.

"Well what's so important?" Noir Mask asked impatiently.

"Well, uh…" Lucy began. "Do you… bathe with your mask on?"

"Is that all you came down here to ask me?" Noir Mask snapped. Zoroark and Houndoom growled at Lucy in response.

"Ah, of course not ma'am!" Lucy replied frantically. "I came to inform you that we will be nearing the Team Plasma base in fifteen minutes."

"I see." Noir Mask said as she crossed her arms over her chest. "And you couldn't have told me this over the intercom?"

"O-of course, I should've done that ma'am!" Lucy realized. "Please forgive me for needlessly disturbing you."

"Just go." Noir Mask told her. Lucy left the room as quickly as she could. "So, fifteen minutes, huh? I was hoping to get a nap in before we got there. But I guess that's not going to happen. Oh well, it's not like I would've slept well anyway."

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, Noir Mask had left the airship flying on Hydreigon's back. They approached the base, which looked like a harmless wooden shack with a red roof. But Noir Mask knew that such appearances could be deceiving. Hydreigon fired several black energy rings from its mouths, blowing a huge hole in the roof. Noir Mask and Hydreigon went through the hole. The inside seemed like an ordinary old shack, but again Noir Mask knew that there was more to the building than there seemed to be.

After getting off Hydreigon, Noir Mask called it back and sent out Zoroark. She and the monster fox looked around until Noir Mask spied a metal trap door on the floor. Zoroark's claws began to glow bright red and it soon slashed through the metal door. Noir Mask and Zoroark then entered the basement level of the cover base. As they walked down the corridor, several Team Plasma members wearing grey and black military uniforms that looked similar to the uniforms worn by Team Rocket soon met them.

"Halt, or we'll be forced to take you out!" a male Team Plasma soldier commanded as he and his comrades took out their Pokeballs.

"Night Daze Zoroark." Noir Mask commanded.

Zoroark began glowing with a red aura and raised its arms. It then quickly slamed its arms back down to the ground and sent out a tidal wave of red energy that knocked the Team Plasma members to the ground. Noir Mask and Zoroark continued on, stepping over the knocked out soldiers as they did so. When they came to the end of the corridor, Zoroark slashed open the metal door. Inside was a small lab manned by a single scientist with long grey hair and pale skin that suggested that he had not been out in the sun for quite some time.

"Who are you?" the scientist demanded to know.

"I am Noir Mask, a special agent of Team Rocket." Noir Mask stated. "And I have come for the location of Kyurem."

"What makes you think you can find that here?" the scientist asked.

"We have sources that tell us this faction of Team Plasma is after Kyurem." Noir Mask told him in a somewhat impatient tone. "Now talk, or else things will get ugly."

Zoroark then roared at the scientist to show that Noir Mask meant business. Right away the scientist caved.

"Very well, I'll tell you what you want to know." The frightened scientist told her. "We have located Kyurem at a place called the Giant Chasm. In a few weeks we at Team Plasma will be able to capture him."

"Then my organization better hurry up." Noir Mask commented. As she was about to leave, she noticed a pointed metal object of the table behind the scientist. It had a grey base with a gold handle, while the pointed part was black with a white strip in the middle. "What is that thing?"

"You mean this?" the scientist asked as an insane grin came to his face. "That my dear is the DNA Link Pin, a device created to make Kyurem whole again."

"What do you mean?" Noir Mask asked.

"Surly you know of the legend that states that Kyurem is a remnant of the dragon Reshiram and Zekrom were in the distant past." The scientist explained. "This device has been created to reintegrate one of the two dragons into Kyurem. In short, it can merge Kyurem together with one of the dragons, filling it with truth or ideals. Our plan after capturing Kyurem is to acquire the black dragon used by the leader of our faction's rival and merge it together with Kyurem, thus filling Kyurem with the ideals of the true Team Plasma!"

"How twisted." Noir Mask commented as she pulled out a certain Pokeball. "Go Darkrai!"

Darkrai emerged from its Pokeball, causing the scientist to back away in terror.

"Experience my hell." Noir Mask said to the scientist coldly. "Dark Void!"

Darkrai threw a ball of black energy at the scientist, causing him to fall to the ground asleep. It was clear from looking at the mad scientist that he was trapped in a horrible nightmare. Meanwhile Noir Mask grabbed the DNA Link Pin from the table.

"I don't think it would be a good idea to leave this thing in the hands of these maniacs." Noir Mask commented.

* * *

A bit later, Noir Mask had returned to the airship and went to the bridge with Zoroark. Already Calvin was on the bridge talking to Giovanni by view screen.

"Did you find the location of Kyurem?" Giovanni asked.

"Yes sir. According to the scientist I interrogated, Kyurem is located in an area known as the Giant Chasm." Noir Mask reported. "Team Plasma is supposed to arrive there in a few weeks."

"Then we better get a move on." Calvin suggested.

"Is that all?" Giovanni asked Noir Mask.

"Yes sir." Noir Mask replied.

"Very well, you are excused then." Giovanni told her.

Noir Mask saluted and walked off the bridge with Zoroark following behind. Halfway down the corridor, Zoroark gave Noir Mask a confused look.

"I guess you're wondering why I didn't tell Giovanni and Winters about the Link Pin." Noir Mask assumed. "If Giovanni learned of what that technology could do, he'd probably try and see if it could be used on other Pokemon…. I've done what I need to in order to survive, but there are lines I just won't cross. I won't allow any Pokemon to be hurt by Team Rocket's experiments if I can avoid it."

Zoroark gave Noir Mask an understanding growl. Noir Mask smiled and patted it on the head.

"But then again maybe I'm making too much of this." Noir Mask chuckled. "I mean for all we know this Link Pin thing could be a piece of junk. I don't even know why I took it. Oh well, I'm tired. Let's go take a nap."

Zoroark nodded and the two continued to their quarters.

* * *

**Author's Note:** So in this chapter we got to know a bit more about Noir Mask. She kind of took on a life of her own when I was coming up with this story. So you will see a story focusing on Noir Mask at a later date. Anyway, we also meet Nora's father, who you can already tell is pretty evil. With the introduction of the DNA Link Pin, it's probably pretty easy by now to see where this story is going. I also ended up implying that Zekrom (who will not be appearing in this story) is already under the ownership of a certain character from the games. I'll most likely do something with that at a later date.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	9. White Dragon Path

**Author's Note:** I ended up having to rethink a good chunk of this story. I decided to cut a chapter that I was originally planning to do. Partly because it conflicted with another idea I had, and partly because I decided that it would've been pointless to do. Plus if kinda simplified a few things for me.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

Chapter 9: White Dragon Path

Only hours after raiding the base of Team Plasma, the Team Rocket airship had landed in an area near the Giant Chasm. Several teams had already fanned out to locate Kyurem. Meanwhile, Noir Mask and Calvin were staying at the temporary base camp set up inside a small cave. Noir Mask was standing in the mouth of the cave admiring the frozen wasteland. She had switched to a warmer fur-lined version of her usual customized Team Rocket uniform.

"I apologize that this mission has brought you to such an unpleasant climate." Calvin said a he suddenly joined Noir Mask. "Perhaps after this is over I could talk to Giovanni about letting you take a vacation in a more tropical environment."

"…Actually I like this weather." Noir Mask told him. "I spent a long time in a place that was as hot as hell, so I've really grown to enjoy the cold."

"How interesting." Calvin commented. "My daughter is the exact opposite. She absolutely cannot stand the cold. Her mother was the same way."

"If you don't mind me asking, why did you have Mr. Blaze put into Team Rocket's special program?" Noir Mask inquired.

"I suppose you do have a right to know since you spent time chasing after him." Calvin chuckled. "The short answer is I did it to keep him away from my daughter. A common street urchin like him had no business seeing her."

"All that because you didn't like that he was dating your daughter?" Noir Mask asked in a rather surprised tone.

"I had thought about having him killed, but I decided to be merciful." Calvin replied. "Either way it was a simple matter for me to get rid of Blaze. Just as it has been easy to remove those who have gotten in my way."

"…You disgust me." Noir Mask said coldly, causing Calvin to give her a surprised glance. "Don't get me wrong, I have been ordered to help you in this mission, but know that I find you appalling."

With that, Noir Mask walked back into the cave. Calvin merely shook his head and chuckled to himself.

* * *

Almost two days had past, and Alex and Mewtwo had arrived in Unova. The ship that had been transporting them had arrived there far sooner than Alex thought it would. As soon as they landed though, Alex began heading for the Giant Chasm, but the trip was taking far too long. The vision that Ash ha spoken of back in Ecruteak had told Alex that Nora would be in great danger before too long, and Alex was worried that he would not get there in time to save her. After half a day's travel, Alex decided to sit on a roadside bench to rest for a few minutes and try and figure out a faster way to get to the Giant Chasm.

"Are you thinking of giving up again?" Mewtwo asked as he stood next to the bench and looked at Alex.

"I only thought about giving up back in Ecruteak because I didn't know where to look for Nora after not finding her there." Alex told him. "But now I do know where to find her. I'm just worried that I won't be able to save her from whatever's coming."

"Need some help young man?" a voice suddenly asked, startling Alex and even surprising Mewtwo.

The two turned to see an old woman standing near them. She stood only four feet tall and had a very wrinkled face. Her hair was completely white and done up in a bun. She wore a sort of white-feathered robe and had blue eyes that looked to Alex as if they were staring right through him. Mewtwo gave the old woman a suspicious look.

"Who are you?" Alex asked after his heart started back up.

"Just an old lady passing through." The old woman replied. "I honestly didn't mean to startle you, but you looked a bit lost. So I decided to see if you needed me to give you some directions."

"Well do you know a fast way I can get to the Giant Chasm?" Alex asked.

"The Giant Chasm?" the old woman asked with a look of surprise. "Oh, now that place is far too dangerous for a young man like you, even with your friend there to help you."

"I don't care!" Alex said as he stood up from the bench. "Someone I really care about may die if I don't get there soon. So please, if you know a way I can get there quicker, tell me."

"You must love this girl a great deal." The old woman observed. "Very well, there is one swift way to get to the Giant Chasm, and that is by taking the White Dragon Path. Follow this road going east and it will take you into the mountains. There you will see a path of white stone. Follow that path and you will be at the Giant Chasm within a few weeks."

"Thank you." Alex said gratefully to the old woman.

"There is one other thing you should know young man." The old woman added. "It is said that the summit of the White Dragon Path is guarded by a being that will only allow those with true hearts to pass."

"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind I guess." Alex told her before walking off. Mewtwo stayed behind and continued to eye the old woman suspiciously.

"Something troubling you?" the old woman asked Mewtwo.

"What are you?" Mewtwo asked back.

"As I said, I am only lady passing though." The old woman said innocently.

"That I do not believe." Mewtwo told her. "I sense something odd about you."

"I see, so it looks as though you are able to perceive the truth about me." The old woman chuckled. "Tell me, why do you follow that young man?"

"He intrigues me." Mewtwo replied. "He is willing to endure great hardships to reunite with his mate. I wish to see just how strong his resolve is."

"Well then keep following him and you should find out very soon." The old woman said with a knowing smile.

Mewtwo nodded and quickly caught up to Alex. Meanwhile the old woman vanished.

* * *

Weeks had passed and Nora had continued on through the wasteland to the Giant Chasm. The journey had been a very hard one for Nora. She had been running low on the food she had brought with her, and in the past few days she had crossed through a snowstorm. Shelter had been scarce, and it had become increasingly difficult for Nora to find wood to start a fire. Nora's only option had been to press on, and it had been a few days since she had had a goodnight's sleep.

Of course Nora had no idea how far she was from the Giant Chasm, but she hoped that she would reach it soon. After crossing over what was probably the fiftieth hill she had gone over that day, Nora saw a large cave opening on her left. She thought about going into the cave to rest for a moment, but there was something very foreboding about it. She decided to play it safe and continue on. But before she could go any further, she saw the bounty hunter with the eye patch that her father had sent after her before.

"Looks like I finally caught up with you." The hunter said smugly. "End of the line you dumb girl. Time to come with me."

As quickly as she could, Nora decided to dash into the cave. The hunter quickly chased after her, but somehow Nora had beaten him into the cave and managed to find a place to try and hide.

"Damnit, stop playing around and get out here!" the hunter shouted as he looked around the cave.

Nora's heart was pounding a mile a minute. Once again she wished that Alex were there to protect her. Suddenly Nora heard the hunter's footsteps getting closer. She started to back further into the little corner of the cave she had found to hide in, but suddenly Nora slipped and fell into a hole in the ground. The hole turned out to be a long slid that Nora went down until ending up in a deep and very large chamber. For some reason the chamber was colder than the outside, but Nora thought that it was perhaps because she was deeper underground.

Nora began looking around for a way out and found a corridor that she hoped led to an exit. But before she could get there the hunter came out of the same slide she had taken into the chamber.

"That's it girl, if you don't come with me right now I'll…" the hunter began to threaten, but suddenly he turned as white as a sheet and a frightened expression came to his face. "It, it can't be… K-Kyurem!"

Before Nora could ask the hunter what he was talking about, he screamed and ran down the corridor that Nora had found earlier. Suddenly Nora could hear the sound of something very large breathing behind her. She slowly turned around and saw what was probably the largest Pokemon she had seen in her life. It looked to be a massive bipedal dragon with underdeveloped arms and a long neck. Its body was mostly grey, but the top of it seemed to be covered in ice. Its head was covered in shards of ice and it had a pair of yellow almost lifeless eyes. The dragon's wings also looked to be made of ice, and one of the wings looked like half of it had broken off at some point. Its tail resembled some kind of broken engine component. It didn't take long for Nora to figure out that the creature before her was the thing the hunter had called Kyurem.

Kyurem roared at Nora, and for a moment she was paralyzed with terror. But as Kyurem began to come towards her she reacted by throwing out a Pokeball. Piloswine came out, and as soon as it did it fired a ball of white light from its forehead. The ball hit Kyurem in the face and actually seemed to cause the dragon some pain. Suddenly Piloswine's body began to glow white and change shape.

When the light had cleared, Piloswine had grown much larger and became a creature that resembled a cross between a pig and a wooly mammoth. Around his eyes it had gained a sort of blue mask. Piloswine had evolved into a Mamoswine.

"Okay Mamoswine, attack again!" Nora commanded. "Ancient Power!"

Mamoswine fired another ball of white light at Kyurem, which once again hit the dragon in the forehead. It then fired another ball, followed by another, each one seeming to cause a little damage. But soon Kyurem had had enough and breathed out a blast of ice-cold mist. Mamoswine fell to the ground unconscious. Nora called Mamoswine back to its Pokeball. Kyurem suddenly started to advance on Nora again, but suddenly an idea came to Nora's head. She got out the bag containing nothing but empty Pokeballs.

Nora threw one Pokeball after another, and each time Kyurem kept breaking out. Soon the bag had become almost empty and was down to only a few balls. She threw one more, hoping that it would contain the dragon. Kyurem was sucked in, and Nora expected it to burst out yet again. But the ball twitched a few times, and to Nora's surprise it made the sound that stated that the capture was complete. Shocked and somewhat dazed, Nora walked over and picked up the ball.

Before Nora could figure out what to do next, light came from the one corridor out of the chamber. She turned to see that the light was coming from flashlights being held by two men in black outfits, each with a red R on the front of the shirt. Nora recognized their costumes as Team Rocket uniforms.

"What the…. A girl?" one of the two Rocket agents said. "First we almost get knocked down by that crazy guy, now this?"

"What should we do?" the second Rocket agent asked.

"Well we might as well take her back to the base." The first agent replied. "We haven't found this big dragon we've been sent to find, and I'm tired of walking around this damn cave. Besides… she's kinda cute."

* * *

A few moments after being escorted out of the cave, Nora found herself in the midst of several more Team Rocket agents. They had surrounded the cave entrance and seemed to be looking for something. Nora looked over and saw standing over a table with what looked like a map on it was a man who she immediately recognized as her father. Right away Nora stormed over to where her father was.

"So now you've sent out Team Rocket to look for me?" Nora asked, causing Calvin to look up from the map.

"What's going on?" Noir Mask asked as she also looked up from the map. "Who is this?"

"This is my daughter Nora." Calvin answered as he eyed his daughter. "How the devil did you get all the way out here Nora?"

"Where's Alex?" Nora demanded to know.

"Forget about that urchin, he's nothing." Calvin replied coldly.

"Where is he?" Nora demanded again. "Tell me what you did with him!"

"He's dead, I had him eliminated." Calvin lied. "Now will you forget about this boy and tell me how you got all the way out here?"

Nora felt as if her heart had been ripped out after hearing what her father had told her. At first she thought it was a lie, but her father's expression seemed to tell her that it was the truth. Nora couldn't believe that she had suffered through so much to reach Alex, to see the man she loved again, only to find that her father had ordered him killed. It wasn't fair. At that moment something in Nora snapped. Nothing mattered anymore, nothing but the cold hatred she had for her father.

Nora began to calmly walk away from her father. She could see her father speaking to her, his lips were moving. In fact Calvin looked as if he was shouting something at her, but Nora couldn't hear a word. Suddenly Nora threw out a Pokeball, and from it emerged Kyurem. Calvin, Noir Mask, and all the Team Rocket agents present were stunned by what they were seeing. Nora walked up to Kyurem, and the dragon of ice bent down its head to allow Nora to get on its back.

"Kill him…" Nora commanded coldly. "Kill my father... KILL THEM ALL!"

Kyurem roared in response to Nora's command. The Team Rocket members had all gained looks of terror on their faces.

* * *

Meanwhile, Alex was continuing to climb the White Dragon Path. It had taken a few long weeks of climbing, but Alex could see that he was nearing the top. Mewtwo continued to follow behind, though he was doing it from the air, much to Alex's irritation.

"You're almost at the top." Mewtwo commented. "I'm surprised it's taken you this long though."

"Why don't you try climbing this thing by foot and see how long it takes you?" Alex snapped.

"I cannot help it if you are limited by your lack of psychic powers." Mewtwo replied.

Alex let Mewtwo's comment slide and continued on. After a few moments he finally reached the top. Looking onward Alex could see that the rest of the path went downhill. But before he could go on, a massive pillar of white flames erupted in front of him.

"Only those who reveal the truth of their hearts may pass though here." An echoing female voice proclaimed. "Reveal to me your truth and you may pass, otherwise you must turn back now. Speak to me your truth!"

"…Are you kidding me?" Alex responded in an angry tone. "What do I give a damn about truth? I don't have time for this! Right now I have to save Nora, and if I have to walk though a damn pillar of fire to get to her I will! So get out of my way or else!"

Suddenly the pillar of flames began to change shape and manifest into something solid. Within moment it had become a large bipedal dragon with blue eyes and covered in a sort of white down. Its head was like that of a wolf, and had two long streams of fur trailing behind it. Its arms were like large wings, and its tail resembled something that looked like a jet engine.

"Your love is your truth." The dragon said in the same female voice Alex and Mewtwo had heard from the pillar of flames.

"What are you?" Alex asked.

"I am Reshiram, the white dragon of truth." The dragon replied. "I have been expecting you to come Alex Blaze."

"How do you know my name?" Alex asked.

"You could say we have met before." Reshiram replied. "But that is not important. Right now you must get to the Giant Chasm. I will take you there."

With that, Reshiram leaned down in order to allow Alex to get on her back. Alex decided that it would be far faster to fly than to walk and got on. Within seconds the end of Reshiram's tail ignited with red flames and the dragon took off into the air. Mewtwo followed close behind. The three were off to the Giant Chasm.

* * *

**Author's Note:** So nine chapters in Reshiram and Kyurem finally show up. As many of you noticed, Reshiram is female in this little version of the Pokemon universe. And I implied that she's taken another form that's appeared a couple times in this story. It was nothing that I had originally planned, it just sort of happened.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	10. Fusion of Love! White Kyurem!

**Author's Note:** We head into the final stretch with this story. Quick, I know, but there will be an epilogue after this.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

Chapter 10: Fusion of Love! White Kyurem!

Alex zoomed through the skies over Unova's icy wasteland atop Reshiram. Mewtwo had been able to match Reshiram's speed and was flying right along side her and Alex. But as fast as they were flying, it was still taking the trio awhile to get to the Giant Chasm, and of course time was of the essence. Alex knew that every second they weren't there was a second that Nora was in danger, though he still did not fully understand why. So Reshiram decided to enlighten Alex and Mewtwo about the hidden terror of the Giant Chasm.

"Long ago in this land, there was a great dragon that aided the two brothers who founded the kingdom of Unova." Reshiram began. "For a time the kingdom enjoyed great prosperity, but over time the two brothers began to disagree over how the kingdom should be ruled. And their conflict was so great that it not only divided the kingdom, but the great dragon as well. The dragon split into three new Pokemon. One of those Pokemon was I, the embodiment of truth. And I served the older of the two brothers in his cause.

"Another of the three Pokemon was my brother Zekrom, the embodiment of ideals. Zekrom served the cause of the younger brother, and soon Unova was torn by a war that had no winner. But in the meantime there was the third dragon that was created by the split, Kyurem. Kyurem is the shadow of what my brother and I once were before we were divided. It is a hollow creature that tries to fill the void within itself by devouring both humans and Pokemon."

"And that thing is in the Giant Chasm?" Alex asked urgently.

"It is because of Kyurem's creation that the Giant Chasm exists." Reshiram explained. "The split of the original dragon occurred in the sky, and the power of the split was so great that it created a massive explosion. The explosion propelled Kyurem with such force that it fell to earth like a falling star. The crater that was created by Kyurem's fall is what is now known as the Giant Chasm."

"So if Nora is out wandering around in that chasm and has run into that thing…" Alex began with a look of horrid realization.

"Then Kyurem would most likely devour her without a second thought." Reshiram stated gravely.

* * *

Meanwhile at the Giant Chasm, things were far worse than what Alex and Reshiram had envisioned. Nora had actually captured Kyurem, and sent it out on a rampage after hearing the lie about Alex's death. A few of the Team Rocket agents had sent out their Pokemon to do battle, but they were quickly wiped away by Kyurem's raw icy power. The majority of the Team Rocket members however had the good sense to run away as the dragon's rampage destroyed their base camp. All the while Nora was riding atop Kyurem, completely oblivious to what was going on around her.

"Aren't you going to do something about this?" Calvin asked Noir Mask in a demanding tone from where they were watching at a safe distance.

"That beast has already taken out half our forces in a matter of minutes." Noir Mask pointed out. "I don't think that even my Pokemon could subdue it."

"But you have to do something!" Calvin told her. "Aren't you supposed to be one of Giovanni's best agents?"

With that, Noir Mask got out her phone and hit a single number. She held the phone to her ear as it rang.

"Report." Giovanni's voice ordered over the phone after it finished ringing.

"The situation had gotten out of hand sir." Noir Mask reported. "Kyurem has already taken out half our forces, and most of our equipment has been destroyed."

"How did this happen?" Giovanni demanded to know.

"There was an unexpected occurrence." Noir Mask replied. "Kyurem was captured by a trainer before we could get to it. This trainer is suffering from fatigue, and after she encountered us she sent Kyurem out to destroy us all. I strongly recommend we retreat sir. Any attempt to claim Kyurem now would be suicide in my opinion."

"Very well, this mission seems to have been a very costly one." Giovanni told her. "Report back to the Kanto Region as soon as possible."

"As you wish sir." Noir Mask replied before hanging up.

"Well, what did Giovanni say?" Calvin demanded to know.

"This mission is scrubbed, you're on your own." Noir Mask said bluntly as she began to walk away.

"You can't just walk away now!" Calvin shouted as he grabbed Noir Mask by her right arm. Suddenly Zoroark came out of its Pokeball and bared its claws, growling at Calvin.

"I'd remove your hand if I were you." Noir Mask said calmly. "Zoroark really doesn't like it when people threaten me."

Calvin backed down after a moment. Noir Mask then called Zoroark back to its Pokeball and sent out Hydreigon. She then got on Hydreigon's back and flew away.

* * *

Not too far away, Ash, Misty, Lisa, and Bolt had arrived and were watching the destruction Kyurem was causing. Since meeting Alex in Ecruteak, Ash thought it would be best if the four of them came to the Giant Chasm themselves to help out.

"Well, looks like Ho-Oh's doom vision was right." Bolt said to Ash. "That dragon is really tearing things up."

"Looks like there's someone riding Kyurem." Lisa observed as she looked at the carnage through a pair of binoculars. "A young woman I think."

"That's probably Nora." Ash told her. "And if what Ho-Oh showed me is right, we won't be able to stop her. The best we can do is buy time until Alex shows up."

"Well then, I guess we're on. Let's rock Raikou!" Bolt called as he sent out Raikou. The tiger of thunder roared out of its Pokeball.

"Let's go Entei!" Lisa called out. Entei emerged from its thrown ball.

"Go Suicune!" Misty called as she threw out the Pokeball. Suicune emerged from the ball with a roar.

"Okay Ho-Oh, I choose you!" Ash called out as he threw the ball into the air.

The great phoenix emerged and landed on the ground. Ash, Pikachu, and Lucario got on Ho-Oh's back and took off towards the battlefield. Bolt, Lisa, and Misty meanwhile mounted their respective Legendary Beasts and quickly followed from the ground. It wasn't long before they reached the sight of the carnage.

"Okay Ho-Oh, Kyurem has a rider, so we need to be careful." Ash told the great bird. "Sacred Fire!"

Ho-Oh's body became covered in rose-colored flames, though somehow Ash and his two Pokemon were unharmed by them. With a flap of its wings, Ho-Oh sent the flames at Kyurem, but the dragon of ice breathed out a frozen mist that stopped the flames from hitting it.

"Okay, that's not going to work." Ash commented. "Time for Plan B Lucario, use Aura Sphere!"

Lucario stood up and closed its eyes. It soon began glowing with a blue aura. A ball of blue light formed over its right paw. Lucario then opened its eyes and threw the ball down at Kyurem. The sphere of light hit Kyurem in the face and caused the dragon of ice some damage. It quickly recovered however and breathed up a frozen blast at Ash and Ho-Oh. Ho-Oh managed to evade the attack, but the blast just barely grazed Ho-Oh's left wing.

Back on the ground, the three Legendary Beasts and their riders were charging at Kyurem and firing off yellow-colored Extrasensory attacks. The beams hit Kyurem in the chest, but barely stunned the dragon. Kyurem turned its attention back to the ground and swung its tail at the beasts, knocking all three of them to the ground.

"Aw man, I hope Alex gets here soon." Bolt said as he got back to his feet. "I don't think we're going to last very long at this rate."

* * *

Meanwhile, Alex, Reshiram, and Mewtwo were continuing their flight towards the Giant Chasm. Alex was relieved to see that the chasm was finally in few. But as they approached, Noir Mask and Hydreigon suddenly flew into their path, causing the trio to stop.

"Well, well, fancy meeting you here." Noir Mask greeted. "It seems you've had an interesting trip here Mr. Blaze."

"Get out of my way or else!" Alex threatened.

"Relax, I was taken off the mission to capture you." Noir Mask told him. "Which means I have no interest in fighting. In fact I think I can help you."

"What do you mean?" Alex demanded.

"Your girlfriend Nora Winters is down at the chasm." Noir Mask explained. "The good news is that she's alive, though perhaps not in the best of shape. She's quite tough though. She actually somehow managed to capture Kyurem."

"What's the bad news?" Alex asked with a suspicious look.

"The bad news is that Nora's father, Calvin Winters, told her that you were dead." Noir Mask answered. "That lie caused her to flip out and send Kyurem on a rampage. As we speak, that beast is still tearing things up down there. Team Rocket's mission to capture Kyurem has been scrubbed, and I'm on my way back to Kanto. But before I go I'd like to give you something that might help. Catch."

Noir Mask threw out an object that Alex just barely managed to catch. Alex looked at the object and saw that it was some sort of device, which was pointed and was mostly black. But it had a white stripe in the middle and a grey base and what looked like a gold switch.

"What is this thing?" Alex asked.

"The Team Plasma scientist I stole the thing from called it a DNA Link Pin." Noir Mask answered. "He claimed that it could merge Kyurem together with one of the other two legendary dragons of this region. I can see that you're riding Reshiram, assuming that the pictures I've seen of Reshiram are accurate. If you used that Link Pin, it might actually end the destruction and allow you to get to Nora."

"That plan might actually work." Reshiram cut in. "If I were to merge with Kyurem, the void in its heart would be filled. The rampage would end."

"But what would happen to you?" Alex asked Reshiram.

"I would live on as a part of Kyurem." Reshiram answered. "You needn't worry about me. Kyurem and I were one a long time ago, perhaps it is time we become one again."

"How do we know if Noir Mask is telling the truth?" Mewtwo pointed out.

"I can sense that she is indeed being truthful about this. Though it seems she does lie to the world about her true self." Reshiram assured them. "But we can trust her."

"Why are you helping me all of the sudden?" Alex asked Noir Mask.

"Call it sympathy if you like." Noir Mask answered. "People like Calvin Winters think that it's okay to ruin a person's life just to get ahead. I can stomach people like that. This is my way of seeing that he gets what he deserves. Well, I'll be going now. Good luck Mr. Blaze."

With that, Noir Mask flew off on Hydreigon. Alex turned his attention to the Link Pin.

"I think I can figure out how to work this thing, but it'll take me a little time." Alex told his two companions. "Can you guys hold Kyurem off until I get it working?"

"You're sure it's wise to use that device?" Mewtwo asked.

"No, but I don't see what else we can try." Alex answered. "Let's just get going."

* * *

Down at the chasm, Ash and the others continued to fight a losing battle against Kyurem. Suddenly a stream of blue fire came down from the sky and hit Kyurem in the tail. The dragon of ice turned to see Reshiram flying towards it. The white dragon breathed out another blast of blue flames, hitting Kyurem in the face.

"Glad you finally showed up." Ash said as he and Ho-Oh flew up next to Alex and Kyurem.

"What're you guys doing here?" Alex asked looking a little surprised.

"Just helping out." Ash answered. "I hope you have a way to end this."

"I just need you buy me a little more time." Alex told him.

"I will handle that." Mewtwo cut in. "You focus on figuring out how to work that device."

"Device?" Ash asked with a raised eyebrow.

"It's a long story." Alex replied. "But if it does what I was told it would do, it should stop Kyurem."

Meanwhile, Mewtwo began throwing Aura Spheres at Kyurem, hitting it in the face. Kyurem responded by breathing out another blast of frozen mist. Mewtwo blocked the attack with an energy barrier, but it was taking a lot of concentration for Mewtwo to keep the barrier up. When the attack finally stopped, Mewtwo continued throwing Aura Spheres at Kyurem, one after another until at one point Mewtwo raised his arms up and created a very large Aura Sphere and threw it right in the dragon's face. Kyurem was having a hard time recovering from that last attack.

Meanwhile, Alex finally activated the Link Pin. The device glowed and then vanished in a burst of light. Suddenly a transparent sphere of gold energy surrounded Reshiram. Moments later a bolt of gold electricity shot from the sphere and surrounded Kyurem with another sphere. As the dragon of ice tried to escape from the sphere, the chain of energy connecting the two spheres was pulling down Reshiram's sphere. The two spheres soon converged, creating an explosion of white light.

When the light cleared, Kyurem's form had changed. It stood more erect and its wings had disappeared, replaced by blades of ice on the sides of its torso. Kyurem's arms had become more developed. Its right upper arm and forearm were covered in ice, with the forearm having a wing-like blade projecting out from the side. Kyurem's left arm meanwhile had gained Reshiram's white down, and a white wing-like blade projected out from the side of the forearm. Kyurem's chest, along with the back and sides of its long neck were also covered in white down.

A tuft of white fur hung down from under Kyurem's chin. The right horn on Kyurem's head had grown a bit longer, while the left horn had been replaced by a long stream of white fur like the kind found on Reshiram's head. Kyurem's engine-like tail looked like it had been repaired, and had a large tuft of white down growing out the end. With the transformation complete, Kyurem's rampage had ended. Alex sat atop Kyurem's back cradling an unconscious Nora in his arms. Alex was very relieved to find that Nora was still breathing, but was very worried by how pale she looked.

"What the devil is going on here?" a voice suddenly demanded. Everyone looked to the ground to see Calvin standing not too far away. Calvin meanwhile noticed Alex and Nora atop Kyurem. "Blaze! How the hell did you get here, and what have you done?"

"What I've done is save Nora you bastard!" Alex shouted. "Now I'm getting her out of here away from you!"

"I forbid it!" Calvin said defiantly.

"You're not in a position to order anyone around." Alex pointed out.

"Maybe I can change that." A smug voice suddenly cut in. Everyone looked again to see Carson standing not too far away behind Calvin.

"You again?" Alex sighed. "Why don't you get a life you moron? Quit chasing me around!"

"I'm not giving up until I haul your butt back to HQ!" Carson declared. "I figured you'd try coming to the Giant Chasm to get your girlfriend, so I came here myself. Now enough of this playing around! Go Rhyperior!"

Rhyperior emerged from the thrown ball. Alex meanwhile gave out another heavy irritated sigh.

"Damnit, I don't have time for this!" Alex exclaimed. "Kyurem, finish this loser off quick so I can get out of here!"

Kyurem roared and suddenly four red glowing wires extended from the back of the blades on its torso into sockets on the engine part of its tail. Fiery red lines began glowing on the tuft of Kyurem's tail, while the ends of its left wing blade and the long fur on its head began glowing with the same light. Suddenly Kyurem began glowing with a red aura and red bolts of energy shot out, hitting Rhyperior. Rhyperior was covered in red flames, which in an instant turned to ice and shattered. The large rhino-like creature was knocked out, leaving Carson with a dumbfounded expression.

"W-well I'm not done yet!" Carson declared, but just as he was about to send out another Pokemon, both he and Calvin found themselves surrounded by the Legendary Beats, along with Bolt, Lisa, and Misty.

"Give it up dudes, you're outnumbered." Bolt told them. "Not to mention outclassed."

"Hey Alex." Ash called. "My friends and I will take care of things here. You just get Nora out of here."

"Thanks." Alex replied. "Maybe we'll see each other again."

"Yeah, who knows?" Ashe replied.

"Alex Blaze." Mewtwo suddenly called down, causing Alex to look up at where Mewtwo was hovering in the air. "You have shown me what a human is capable of enduring to reunite with a loved one. I only wish I understood love more."

"Maybe you'll fall in love one day and you'll understand." Alex suggested.

"Doubtful." Mewtwo replied somewhat sadly. "I was created in a laboratory by humans. And though I am related to Mew I am the only one of my kind."

"Hey, anything is possible." Alex pointed out. "Take me for example. I just merged two dragons together."

"Perhaps." Mewtwo replied. "But for now I will continue on my own. I hope that you and your mate will find happiness."

With that, Mewtwo flew off for parts unknown. Alex turned his attention back to Nora.

"Get us out of here Kyurem." Alex commanded. "Get us someplace warm."

Kyurem roared and took off into the sky at incredible speed. As the fiery dragon of ice flew through the air, Nora began to stir and slowly open her eyes.

"Hey beautiful." Alex said with a warm smile.

"…Alex?" Nora said as she fully woke up. "Is… is it really you?"

"Who else?" Alex replied.

At that point Nora broke down in tears and Alex pulled her close. It was quite some time before Nora finally calmed down.

"My father told me you were dead." Nora said after regaining most of her composure. "I guess I should've known he was lying."

"Don't worry, some friends of mine are taking care of him." Alex assured her. "He'll never bother us again."

"So… where are we going?" Nora asked after a moment.

"Wherever you'd like." Alex replied.

"I don't care where we go as long as it's warm." Nora replied. "And… as long as you're with me."

Alex and Nora gazed deeply into each other's eyes for a moment before their lips met in a passionate kiss. Meanwhile, Kyurem continued flying on in an unknown direction, heading for someplace warm as Alex instructed.

* * *

**Author's Note:** So that more or less wraps up the story. But as I mentioned up top, there will be an epilogue, so stay tuned.

In the meantime, please review and let me know what you think.


	11. Epilogue

**Author's Note:** I had meant to get this done and up yesterday, but I was a little busy. Anyway, here's the finale of Fire for Ice.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

Epilogue

Nora walked along the beach of Mossdeep City under the hot sun. A heat wave had hit the island of Mossdeep, one which all of the citizens detested, Nora included. Though two months ago when she was wandering through the icy wastes of Unova, Nora would've welcomed the heat. Glaceon walked alongside Nora at her feet, and it was clear that the little ice fox detested the heat more than Nora and perhaps anyone else. At times Nora thought that Glaceon would've tolerated the heat better if it hadn't evolved, but it did what it had to do to survive in the wasteland.

At last the two had reached the little ice cream stand that Nora had opened up not long after she and Alex had moved to the island. Alex meanwhile had opened up a small blacksmith shop where he made badges for the local gym and other various items. It was a simple life, but one to their liking. Already several children had gathered at Nora's stand. It looked as if they had been waiting for a while.

"What kept ya Mrs. Blaze?" a brown-haired boy of about seven asked.

Nora blushed a little at what the boy called her. Even though she and Alex had been married for about a month and a half she was still getting used to being referred to as Mrs. Blaze.

"Sorry Timmy, it took me a little longer than normal to get out of the house this morning." Nora said to the boy. "And please, call me Nora. Now then, I think I know what you kids are all waiting for. Give me a minute to set up."

Within minutes, Nora opened up and she was swarmed with kids who wanted to spend their meager change on a Popsicle or some other frozen treat. Eventually there was a lull in business for the day, and Nora decided to take the opportunity to read the paper. The front page immediately caught Nora's attention. The headlines read that Calvin Winters had finally been sentenced to jail after a two month long trial. Nora breathed a sigh of relief after reading that her father was finally behind bars.

"Hey, you the lady who runs this stand?" a voice suddenly asked. Nora looked up from her paper to see a young man with spiked white hair wearing a green headband, along with a black t-shirt and jeans.

"Oh, would you like something?" Nora asked the young man.

"Yeah, a battle." The young man replied smugly. "Let me introduce myself. My name's Chet, and I just beat the gym leaders here. I heard rumors that the lady who runs this little stand is a pretty strong trainer. I also heard that she was married to the town blacksmith, who's also pretty strong. I decided I take both of you on before leaving the island. I already took on your husband, so now I've come for you."

"Oh I see." Nora said with an amused smile. "I hope my husband didn't beat you too badly."

"Uh, well… that isn't important!" Chet responded. "Right now I've come to battle you. AND I want to take on that dragon you're said to have."

"Are you sure about that?" Nora asked as she stepped out from behind the counter. "My dragon is quite powerful."

"Trust me, I've fought against Dragon Pokemon before." Chet said confidently. "I can take yours down no problem."

"Okay, if you insist." Nora shrugged. "Go Kyurem!"

The fiery dragon of ice roared out of its ball. Chet went pale and his confident expression vanished upon seeing Kyurem. Even after merging with Reshiram, the ice dragon still looked very intimidating.

"So, still think you can defeat my dragon?" Nora asked.

* * *

Nora returned home after the sun had begun to set. It had been another busy day at the stand, and the battle with Chet only took ten seconds so she wasn't away for very long. Upon entering the kitchen, Nora saw Alex at the counter drinking a glass of water. He had no shirt on and his toned body was covered in sweat, indicating that he had just come in from the shop. Nora was, to say the least, very pleased by the sight before her.

"Oh, hey there." Alex greeted after noticing Nora's arrival.

"Hi." Nora greeted back as she came up to Alex and kissed him. "So did you see the paper today?"

"You mean the thing about your dad finally being sentenced?" Alex replied. "So does this mean you'll finally stop worrying?"

"I guess." Nora answered, though her expression looked a bit troubled. "I just can't shake the fear that he'll try something."

"Don't worry, your dad can't do anything to us now." Alex assured her with a stroke to the cheek. "And even if he does, you could always sick Kyurem on him."

"Well Kyurem did come in handy against this trainer who showed up at the stand this afternoon." Nora chuckled.

"You mean Chet?" Alex asked. "He came by here too itching for a fight. It took me only five minutes to beat him. The gym leaders here must be kicking themselves right now for losing to him."

"I'm sure." Nora laughed. "So shall I get dinner ready?"

"Actually I'm all sweaty right now, so I think I'll take a shower first." Alex replied.

"Hmm, good idea." Nora said as a seductive smile came to her face. "I think I'll join you."

FIN

* * *

**Author's Note:** So that wraps up this story. Sorry it was kinda short. In all honesty though, I don't think this was my best work. I think I could've developed the lead characters a bit more, and as far as the romance goes I think it got a little cheesy. Still, I enjoyed working on this story. Some time in the future I may come back and do some editing, or maybe do a remake.

For now though, I'm going to move on to another Pokemon story. I think I might have mentioned it before. In a way you could say it's a prequel to this story, and tells of how Ash captured Ho-Oh.

So stay tuned for **Trial of the Phoenix**

In the meantime, please review and let me know what you think.


End file.
